


Heave Ho: sea rats and future kings!

by salytierra



Series: Ahoy, Blue Spirit hearties! [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Action/Adventure, Airbender Ty Lee (Avatar), Alternate Universe - Pirate, F/F, F/M, Found Family, Humor, M/M, Multi, One Big Happy Family, Pining, Slow Burn, Sokka is an awkward turtleduck, THIS IS A PIRATE!AU Y'ALL!!, Universe Alteration, Yeah you read that right, bending but no avatar, firebender jet, shameless flirting, starts with zuki and the OT3 is endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 41,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26530291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salytierra/pseuds/salytierra
Summary: The 80-year-war ended in a stalemate, the Fire Nation and the Northern Water Tribe signing a treaty to share the world. The North controls all the waters and the shores, the Fire Lord takes the inlands. They look out for each other, help each other to suppress and subjugate the South Pole and the Earth Continent.Sokka was born into this, he knows that even if he’s officially being sent away from his birthland to learn the ways of the North, in reality he’s little more than a glorified prisoner. Even now, on this Northern ship he feels their scourge as they mock him behind his back;uncultured beast, dirty savage, southern scum…he considers turning on them and drastically reducing his life sentence when a cry of“Pirates!”erupts, seeding panic through the crew.Sokka runs next to the captain and sees the old Admiral’s face go ashen as he watches the battleship with a golden dragon carved on the prow close in on them with impossible speed.“Oh Tui, no...” He whispers, horrified“It’s the Blue Spirit.”
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato, Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Suki/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Suki/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Ahoy, Blue Spirit hearties! [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1929136
Comments: 249
Kudos: 424
Collections: Finished111





	1. Fireblaze

Sokka expected the big burly man with an eyepatch that breaks through their defenses first. He’s shirtless and built like a mountain of muscles, a raging grimace on his face completing the stereotype. What Sokka didn’t expect was, however, the little girl poised on the pirate’s shoulders, screaming bloody murder, one fist in the air, another clutching her _steed’s_ hair. 

The scene itself is so bizarre that Sokka almost misses the frenzy of other pirates spilling onto the deck of their ship. Some swing on ropes, like the first man, another guy, and the four ladies dressed in armor with green skirts and face-paint. Two, that look like kids, legit just jump as if the easily five meter chasm between the ship’s railings was nothing. That first wave distracts the soldiers and the pirates lower a plank, more of their forces coming in to attack. The deck erupts in battle, orders and screams. 

And that’s when the moment that will stick in Sokka’s memory forever happens:

“Surrender and you will live!” A deep, authoritative voice booms above the rest and Sokka turns in time to see a lean man wielding two swords swing them in sync as six soldiers close in on him alone. 

The blades erupt in fire. 

Living fire, blazing, hot and deadly, that the pirate brandishes like whips. His attackers, six grown, highly trained Northern men, fall backwards, screaming in agony from sizzling body parts, and as the man turns Sokka sees his face. He sees the determined sneer and the huge scar on the left side. And then their gazes meet for a fleeting second and Sokka is frozen under the piercing intensity of the most inhuman eyes he’s ever seen. Bright _yellow_ , like those of a wild animal, of a predator in the night. 

It’s only for a second, but it roots him in place, and he doesn’t react until he’s being yanked backwards and feels his arms being somehow pinned to his sides by a metal rod, bending around his body like a coil of rope. 

The fight itself lasts less than ten minutes. 

Sokka’s still is in complete shock as he finds himself on his knees, in a line-up of other sailors from his ship, equally incapacitated. Some of the pirates patrol over them while others raid their supplies and carry them to their own vessel. A tall woman, that Sokka’s pretty sure he saw throwing knives earlier, stands by the plank with a notepad and a pencil, checking every packet and barrel. 

“Dried berries, excellent.” She says with the same facial expression one would use to point out that water is wet. “Whalebone jewelry? Yes, put it in the pile to sell.” same face. “Sea prunes? Hey, Jet!”

“What?!” A shaggy pirate standing right behind Sokka cries out, startling him. 

“What can you do with sea prunes?” The woman calls. 

“Ew!” Sokka is almost offended by the open revulsion in the dude’s voice. “Nasty! Throw them overboard!” 

The painted woman that’s carrying the box immediately does just that, dusting off her hands and turning to go back below deck, surely to find something else to loot. 

And here’s one thing that everyone should know about Sokka - his impulse control? 99% crafted by his sister, who’s not here, so you can’t really blame him for opening his big mouth and running it like a toddler with a death wish. 

“Hey!” He turns around as much as his restraints will let him “You are the nasty one you ignorant crooked brute! Sea prunes are a staple of my culture and they’re excellent! Don’t you dare disrespect them!” 

Everything stills as all eyes turn on him. Even the guy he’s just addressed stares in utter disbelief, the wheat strand he was chewing on falling from his mouth. 

Somebody erupts in laughter. It’s the little girl, and the man holding her follows right after, his booming cackles then picked up by a bald boy hanging from a rig next to his head. In a couple seconds every pirate is losing their shit. Except for the tall inventory lady, who just smiles behind her sleeve and the guy that sokka just insulted, whose neck colors in an angry purple as he raises his weird swords, seconds away from showing the defenseless Sokka his place. 

Sokka laughs too, because he just realized he’s gotten himself neck deep in shit and he just cannot do anything else but giggle hysterically. 

Luckily, before worse comes to worst, a voice interrupts the cacophony. 

“Silence! What’s going on here?” The man with the scarred face from before comes out of the navigation cabin. He’s dressed in nondescript black pants and high leather boots, a red vest loosely held by a black sash, and leather straps supporting the holster for the crossed swords on his back. He’s got shaggy, dark hair, a gold earring gleaming on his right side, and like six or seven smaller hoops around the remains of his ruined left ear. His eyes are still the same unnatural color as the jewelry he’s wearing. 

He crosses his arms, a scowl permanent on his lips, and arches his only eyebrow. 

“Jet just got _roasted!_ ” The little girl sings-songs, and it’s only as she gives a thumbs up somewhere in Sokka’s general direction that he realizes she’s _blind_. 

“The boulder thinks it was funny!” The big man that’s holding her up grins. 

The guy with the scar huffs and rolls his eyes, tapping his foot. But before he can say anything, the door to the navigation room opens again and one of the painted ladies, but with a more elaborate headpiece on her forehead, drags out the captain. Sokka doesn’t even remember seeing him flee and hide, but he supposes he shouldn’t be surprised that the man looks close to a heart attack and his crotch is wet like he just peed himself. 

“Well, turns out,” the woman states with a clear, authoritative voice “that this _‘important cargo’_ we heard about was not tax money, but-” she flings the captain to the ground, where he collapses, whimpering pitifully as his shoulder hits the wood, taking the full weight of his body. 

“Which one is it?” She asks, almost nicely, and the captain crawls on his knees, pointing a shaky finger straight at Sokka. 

“Him! The son of the Chairman! We were escorting… protecting him, I was only following orders I swear!” 

Sokka scowls. _Protecting? As if!_

But the woman ignores the captain, stepping over his legs to approach Sokka. She sinks into a crouch next to him and raises her hand. Sokka doesn’t know what he thought would happen but he certainly is surprised by the delicacy with which she cups his chin and raises his face, an enigmatic smirk on her white-painted face as she studies his features with her deep, baywater-blue eyes. 

“Gotta admit, our usual loots aren't generally this cute.” She coos, almost in private to Sokka, her voice coming out soft and low like a purr. Sokka feels his breath shake but just as it came, the moment is gone. She lets go of his chin and stands up, waving in Sokka’s direction. “Load him in!” 

“Yes, ma'am!” The shaggy pirate that Sokka had insulted before calls out and he only has time to register a whoosh, followed by a sharp pain on the back of his head, before his world sinks into darkness. 

  
  


He wakes up slowly and painfully. His head is throbbing and his limbs are sore. He’s still tied up, but this time it feels like there’s a support behind his back. The light hurts his eyes, but he manages to pry them open, groaning in protest at the noises around him. 

“You’re awake!” A high-pitched, way too loud, voice practically screams in his ear. But it wakes him up. He focuses his eyes and would probably back out if he had the space. There’s a girl; hanging in the air upside down just above him, her grinning, sunny face way too close to his own, her long braid swinging from side to side. 

“Wha-” He croaks, but his throat is too dry and he coughs, lungs constricting painfully under the rope. 

“Aw, don’t be so dramatic!” She giggles “Teo said you were fine! I mean Jet didn’t have to whack you so hard, or at all. Nobody asked him, we could have actually used you being able to walk and stand but hey that’s Jet, you know how he is!” 

“Uh—- no?” Because no, he doesn’t know how Jet is. And now that he’s more awake he understands what’s going on. All around him people are milling around, shouting, laughing, working. The long Junk ship is made of dark wood and metal plating. Sokka is tied to the foremast, under the maroon sails that, thankfully, cast a shadow over him. The Northern ship that he had boarded is nowhere to be seen and the waters around them are smooth and completely devoid of any other presence. 

_Shit. Shit shit shit shit. SHIT!_

And it’s just like his luck to get kidnapped by pirates the day he leaves his village for the first time. Of course, why not!? Just the usual Sokka business. He breaks into sweat, breath coming out more ragged in spite of the discomfort, just as his lips stretch into a painful grimace. 

“Are you scared? ¡Oh no! It’s okay, we won’t kill you. Probably!” She gives him a toothy grin and lets go of her rope. A strong gust of wind surrounds her as she twists and floats gracefully to the ground, landing on her feet. 

And that is what halts his spiral into panic. Sokka’s jaw drops, as he stares at her. “You… you’re an airbender!” He exclaims, which his throat doesn’t like, making him cough again. It’s scrappy, and it hurts, but he’s way more transfixed with the girl before him. He’s only ever met another Blessed person in his life - his sister - and she’s a waterbender. And today, not only has he seen his first firebending but also, _air?!_ Not to mention how incredibly rare they supposedly are!

“That I am!” The girl confirms though, twirling around like a feet above the ground before settling back down. “Oh, Cap! He’s awake!” 

She waves to the side and Sokka’s breath hitches when the man from before comes into view. The one with the scarred face and flaming swords (although they’re not flaming now, thanks Tui for small mercies). His eyes are as abnormally yellow as Sokka remembered them. He cannot help but feel fascinated. Even with those beastly eyes, and half of his face burned into a dark scar, his left eye only halfway open and lacking eyelashes or the eyebrow above, he doesn’t look gruesome or brutish. Instead he carries himself with a light grace. 

Sokka’s only half aware that he’s staring. The man raises an eyebrow, standing a meter and a half away from Sokka, inspecting him from head to toe. 

Finally, he meets Sokka’s eyes again. “Welcome to my ship,” he says in a slightly hoarse voice “behave and you will not be harmed.” 

“You have firefolk accent.” is all Sokka’s stupid brain and absent mouth filter agree to produce. He coughs and mentally chastises himself. _Of course he’s firefolk you idiot!_ _He was firebending before!_

He startles when something presses against his lips. The man is standing closer now, and holding a waterskin to Sokka’s mouth, his expression slightly amused. Sokka drinks. The water is like a soothing balm to his throat and various of his pains and discomforts alleviate just from a few long gulps. He breathes in with relief when the waterskin is pulled away and looks back at the man. Although from up close, it’s clear that he’s actually very young, couldn’t be more than a couple years older than Sokka, and maybe even that impression is due to the elements at high sea. He’s got high cheekbones too. 

“Thank… you.” Sokka produces. 

The other steps away and for the first time Sokka notices that the blind girl from before is there too. She’s really short but her face from this distance is not childish at all, baby fat gone and features at half-growth. She must be around fifteen. 

“Oo _ooh_ , Sparky, either he’s terrified or you’ve got an admirer.” She cackles and Sokka sputters. _What?_

The man - the guy - rolls his eyes. “Just pay attention, Toph.” He says, before addressing Sokka again, features hardening again into a resolute frown. 

“I’m Zuko, the captain of the Blue Spirit. And as you must have gathered by now - you’re our prisoner. Now, the Captain of that Northern Ship didn’t tell us much. So why don’t you introduce yourself?” 

“Sokka.” Sokka supplies “Son of Hakoda, chairman of the Southern Water Tribe assembly.” 

Zuko nods. “And the reason you were on that ship is?”

Sokka contemplates what to say. He knows what his default explanation should be, what he has to chant out. But these are not Northerners, they are pirates. And sure, the captain is firefolk, but he _did_ attack a Northern ship, which violates all possible clauses of the Alliance, not to mention he’s got an airbender aboard. He decides to risk the truth. 

“I was being taken against my will to the North, as leverage to discourage my family’s involvement in the rebellion.” 

Zuko’s healthy eye opens wide, mouth slacking just slightly in surprise. “Toph?” he asks. 

“He’s not lying.” The blind girl provides. And Sokka is ever more intrigued by her. 

Zuko’s face does a series of funny things before settling into a sour scowl. “That better not become a problem for our plans.” He grumbles, turning to walk away. The short girl jogs up to him, latching onto his elbow, and Sokka blinks in confusion at their retreating backs. 

“Ah, don’t worry about him!” The airbender, that Sokka almost forgot was there, quips “Zuko’s a sweetheart actually, wouldn’t hurt a fly.” 

Sokka, very wisely for once, refrains from pointing out that he’s seen the captain maim six men at once to death like, a couple hours ago. 

“Ty Lee!” Somebody calls and the girl jumps to attention.

“Ah, it’s Suki! Gotta go, nice getting to know you, Sokka!” She leaps into the air with a whirl of wind and catches a rig, using it to jump over the foot traffic of the deck like a circus gymnast. 

“Wait! Aren’t you going to untie me?!” Sokka slumps against the mast as much as he can and lets out a long-suffered moan. His head still hurts and even if his limbs protest the restraints he feels just so tired all of a sudden. 

He wakes up when the moon is high up in the sky, to someone poking his face. The guy is short, bald, covered in blue tattoos, and has the same round face and wide gray eyes as Ty Lee. He smiles apologetically at Sokka. 

“Hey, sorry we left you there. Today has been busy. I’m gonna untie you now, okay?” Sokka nods and smiles. There’s something about the boy that just sets him weirdly at ease, but… 

“How many children _are_ on this ship?” Because the kid couldn’t be older than 15. Yet he feels strong and solid when he helps Sokka support his weight as the rope falls off. Sokka’s entire body is stiff and pained, so he has no other choice but to lean on the boy, who doesn’t answer but gives him an enigmatic smirk that only raises more questions. 

“Uncle has requested to see you.” He says instead, and Sokka doesn’t know why this boy’s relative wants to parlé with him, but if it gets him off the mast, he’s all for it. 

He guides him to the quarterdeck, past the helm, manned by the captain, who purses his lips but doesn’t pay them any more mind, eyes fixed on the vast blue ahead. Sokka turns his head to get another few seconds of studying him but then the boy he’s leaning on knocks on the door at one side of the mizzen mast. 

“Come in!” A voice answers and Sokka squints against the light inside. The room is small but tastefully furnished with drawers and tables holding scrolls, instruments and maps. A cot with a few blankets is extended in one corner, next to an oil lamp and a cabinet displaying several tin pots. The wall behind it is covered in a large astral map. _The Navigation room then_. In the middle a plump, aged man sits in front of a low table. 

“Ah, our esteemed guest. Thank you for bringing him, Aang.” He nods at Sokka’s guide, who pats him on the back and leaves.” The man smiles at Sokka.” Please, join me for tea?” He gestures at the steaming set for two displayed in front of him. But it’s the bowl of fish stew awaiting on the other side of the table that does it for Sokka. 

“Thank you, can I…?” The man nods, still smiling, and maybe Sokka shouldn’t act rude or even be more cautious, but he’s suddenly realized how famished he is and practically attacks the food, stuffing it into his mouth with the zest of a man that has been starving for a week, instead of one day. What? He’s a growing boy! 

In any case, the old man doesn’t seem to mind. He patiently sips at his tea and once Sokka has extinguished the last grain of rice, fills another cup and pushes it towards Sokka. It’s hot and burns his tongue on the way down, but it fills Sokka’s insides with warmth and relaxes his stiff limbs. 

He sets the cup down and bows lightly to the man, somewhat conscious of how appalled his mother would have been at his manners. 

“All better now?” The man asks. 

“Much better. Thank you…-” 

“Iroh. But you can call me Uncle if you want. A lot of people around here do.” 

“Iroh it is, if you don’t mind.” It feels really weird to call somebody he doesn’t even know Uncle. 

“Of course not. And your name is Sokka, right? Son of Hakoda from the Southern Water Tribe?” Sokka nods and takes another sip of his tea. It’s sweet and comforting. He’s never been much for tea, but this one tastes excellent. “My nephew told me you claim to have been on that ship against your will.”

Sokka frowns. He figures Iroh doesn’t mean Aang, even if the kid had called him Uncle, but if half the crew does... And so he looks at the old man, really looks. He’s got a gentle face covered in laugh lines and wrinkles; a plump complexion wrapped in a grey-red haori robe, but excellent, regal posture; a long white beard and a balding head that somehow managed to maintain a healthy mane in the back; and most of all - amber eyes. They look darker and duller, more like the flame of a candlelight than a snow panther’s, but that may be for the lighting of the room itself. 

“The captain, right?” 

Iroh looks satisfied. “You’re a smart boy.” 

“It’s the eyes.” He admits. He’s seen firefolk before, not firebenders or pirates, but regular Alliance soldiers or politicians. None of them had eyes like that.

“Ah, yes.” Iroh sips on his tea “I guess it wasn’t my juvenile physique and lustrous obsidian hair what gave it away.” 

Sokka snorts. The old man is pretty funny. But then a knock on the door makes them both look towards it. 

“It’s open!” Iroh calls, and a young woman walks in, closing the door behind herself. There’s something about her that rings a bell to Sokka, but he can’t quite place it. She’s wearing a firefolk-style ensemble of a sleeveless red crop-top held on by the collar, ample pants tied at her knees, and slippers. But Sokka’s eyes are drawn to the giant tattoo coiling around her entire left arm. It looks like a sea-serpent diving, its jaws open in a silent roar over the back of her hand. 

“Suki, my sweet girl. Come here for some tea and a friendly conversation? Or did my nephew send you to guard over me in face of imagined perils?” 

“Uncle, you shouldn’t cahoot with prisoners on your own.” She chastises good-naturedly, but comes to sit by the table with them. 

“Oh, I’m hardly defenseless, as you know well, my dear. But young Sokka here is no danger anyway.” He says while producing another teacup out of nowhere — as if he’d known all along someone else would join them — and filling it with tea for her. 

“Hm-” She narrows her eyes at Sokka. “You never know with these Northern Water types.”

Sokka’s body reacts before his reason does. “I’m NOT a Northerner!” He spats out, banding his fist on the table. The tea set clings in protest but he locks his stormy eyes with her clam blue ones. She doesn’t react to his outburst except to lean further into his personal space, all hooded eyes and sly, full lips. 

“Good answer.” She coos, resting her chin on her palm. And suddenly Sokka remembers where he’d heard that voice in that particular tone before. He pulls back.

“I’ve met you before! You were the painted girl that told them to take me.” 

She grins and offers her hand to shake. “I’m Suki, the quartermaster.” 

“I’m afraid I don’t know much about sailing professions.” But he shakes her hand nonetheless. Her grip is way stronger and her fingers rougher than he expected. 

“It means I’m the second in command, after the captain. And since he rarely bothers, I give the orders around here. If you want something, you also have to ask _me_ first.”

“Oh,” Sokka nods “can I please have my hand back, then?” because she still hasn’t let go. But at his request she hums, running her thumb over the inside of his wrist before moving back to grab her teacup. She takes a sip not breaking eye contact. Sokka silently thanks his dark complexion for not letting him blush. 

Iroh clears his throat, looking at them with clear amusement. “Well, before you came in, Suki, Sokka and I were talking about what he told Zuko this evening.”

“Oh right,” she cocks an eyebrow at him. “That you were being taken to the North so your family doesn’t go running with the rebellion.” 

Sokka nods. 

“So does it?” 

“What?”

“Your family. Does it run with the rebellion?”

Sokka tightens his jaw and instead of answering, asks another question. “Why did a ship full of firefolk attack a Northern vessel?” 

She shrugs “Only a handful here are firefolk. Most of us are from all over the Earth Continent.” 

“Wait, you? But you’re dressed like-” 

“It was a loot.” She smirks “and it looks really good on me, so why not? But I’m from Kyoshi Island.” 

Sokka’s eyes go wide. _“Kyoshi!?”_ He’s heard rumors. Of what happened to Kyoshi island three years ago. It’s told in hushed voices in underground assemblies and preached like an example on public plazas. 

He looks at Iroh and the old man nods, confirming her confession. There’s no way someone escaped from Kyoshi island would favor the Alliance. 

“The Fire Nation almost broke us in the 80-years war.” Sokka starts with the story that every other land shares, “But then the war came to an end. The Fire Nation and the Northern Water Tribe stroke a deal to share the world. The North came to us preaching sistership and help. Instead, they took everything we had left. And then, they took our Blessed, our freedom and our sense of identity. We live as their underlings, their free labor, we pay them for our right to exist. My family is one of the few historic lineages that’s still left. Do your math.” 

“Well,” Suki leans back and stands up, stretching her arms. “Then you’ll be happy to know that whatever the North is willing to pay for you, will contribute to the global resistance.” She smirks down at him.

“Is that what you’re planning to do with me?” Sokka’s heart sinks a bit. Why? It’s not like he expected they’d just let him disembark in the nearest port and leave him be, right? 

“We are pirates.” She states simply. 

“But-” Iroh chips in “we are not inconsiderate. Suki, dear, would you mind sending someone over with a couple extra blankets? Our guest had such a long day, I’m sure he’d appreciate a night of peaceful sleep.” He gestures towards an empty space in the room. 

Suki frowns “Are you sure? I could put him with the rest, or we have, you know, a cell.”

“It’s full of turnips,” Iroh chuckles. “and let the boy get to know our family first, before sharing sleeping quarters with them. I’ll be fine, my girl, Sokka is not a threat, I’m sure you can see that as well.” 

Sokka doesn’t know whether to be relieved or offended that they disregarded him so easily. He could probably strangle that old man with his bare hands. 

Then again — he thinks ten minutes later, wrapped in a blanket and sinking into a finally comfortable slumber — where would he go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to write this. The main story revolves around Sokka and Zukki / Suzukka / whatever we are callin' it. However, I'm gonna post a few extras in the series on a later date, in case anyone wants to keep an eye on it.
> 
> As you can see, this is not as much of an AU as it is a Universe Alteration (UA). In case you are wondering about what type of ship the Blue Spirit is, it's a traditional Junk Ship. Think Sinbad's ship from the dreamworks movie but much bigger, or the Empress from Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (but without holes in the sails). Also, in this universe they don't have guns and cannons yet, nor steamboats. There's a reason why development fell behind from the AtlA levels of tech, and it will be hinted at in the next chapter.
> 
> If you like the story so far, please drop a comment and a kudo to encourage me to edit faster ;)


	2. Star charts

The next day throws him right into the fray of day-to-day sailing. And while the analytical side of Sokka’s brain obsessively tries to sort this situation out — anticipating all possible scenarios, preparing escape plans that he knows are a bad idea from the beginning and evaluating the pros and cons of being used as a bargaining chip — the other side of his brain, the curious and easily excitable one, is drinking it all up. 

He’s been given a stale bread bun upon wake-up and then ordered to shadow a tall guy called Haru while he went over meager tasks around the ship. Apparently, if Sokka’s going to be eating and drinking water, he might as well work for them in return. No slacking-off even for prisoners.

“Usually I do carpentering, if there’s something to repair,” Haru tells Sokka as they’re mopping the floor. He’s a surprisingly amicable guy, for a pirate, even if his expertise in facial hair trends could use an update “but we all chip in to do a bit of everything when our primary function is not needed. Except the leadership and such.”

A shadow passes over them and Sokka looks up at Ty Lee, swinging around the rigging like she’s a happy little spiderfly bouncing in her own net. “What does she do?” 

“Ty Lee? She’s the Boatswain, she makes sure the rigging and the equipment on deck is fine. Oh- and doubles as a secondary lookout. _She’_ s always busy, so she doesn’t have to mop the floor.” Haru laughs good-naturedly. 

They help out with mending the fishing net afterwards and Sokka meets Mayu and Kira, both girls are from Kyoshi island and apparently are part of the original crew, or so Haru tells him. In fact, now that Sokka pays attention to the people milling around them (and sometimes casting him curious looks), around two thirds of the crew are young women.

Way too young, he decides when he meets the blind one they call Toph again. Haru must go do some personal work, so he leaves Sokka under her supervision. 

“So, what do you do around here?” He asks. 

She blinks her milky eyes in his general direction and answers in the most serious and deadpan voice Sokka’s ever heard. “I’m the lookout.” 

It takes Sokka the embarrassing time of five good seconds before erupting into laughter. Maybe it’s the absurdity of the situation, or his nerves, or the mental toll of the day, but that’s the most hilarious joke he’s ever heard. When he manages to recompose himself, she’s grinning from ear to ear, fists at her hips and looking way taller in spirit than she’s in real life. 

“I like you, Fresh Meat!” She declares. “Nobody around here laughs at my blind jokes anymore.” 

She latches onto his elbow with her arms and drags him towards the foremast. Sokka wonders how she can know where to go at all times. Under the foremast’s shadow, a seating space is arranged, with half of a barrel in lieu of a table and surrounded by chunks of scrap metal. The tall, nonchalant woman that Sokka’s seen the day before taking inventory is leaning on the mast and raises her head when they come close. 

“Toph. I was waiting for you.” 

“Need sharpening, Edge Princess?” and since she seems to remember Sokka, pats him on the chest and waves towards the woman’s stomach. “Do you two know each other yet? Edge Princess, this is Fresh Meat, Fresh Meat, this is Edge Princess.” 

“Uh-”

“Mai.” She concedes, with the tiniest smile tugging on the thin lips. And Sokka feels like getting even that much was an accomplishment on his part. 

“Sokka.” He offers in return, watching in cold fascination as Mai starts pulling knives from every part of her body - her sleeves, her pants, her belt, her cape, her underarms, the inside of her shirt… - until she’s got around sixteen laying on the table. 

“I’ll be back for them when I finish sorting yesterday’s selling pile.” She tells Toph, starting to walk away. “And if you make me a new one or two, I’ll even give you some extra sugar.”

“You drive a hard bargain!” Toph calls after her and motions to the other side of the table for Sokka to sit. “You asked what I did around here before? Well, I do _this_.” She says, pinching her fingers and running them over the edge of one of the knives, grinning like a madwoman. 

“Uh—” Sokka repeats, since as far as he’s able to tell, nothing happened. “You give the knives the love and affection they deserve?” 

“Oh, for Nuwa’s sake! Nobody is ever impressed with that, y’all blind or what?!” She exclaims, throwing her hands into the air and Sokka leans backwards, just in case she starts wriggling in his direction with a knife in hand. “Watch this!” 

She stabs the knife into the wood and picks up one of the pieces of scrap, gripping it tightly in both hands. 

Sokka’s jaw drops. 

“H- HoW?!!” He shrieks, jumping in his seat in disbelief. 

The metal in her hands turns into clay, obediently letting itself be molded even where she’s not touching it. She tears a piece off and flattens it, rust falling away like dust, sculpting out a hilt and running her fingers over the edge again. In a matter of minutes she’s got another knife, sharp and shiny and absolutely top-notch. 

“I’m a metalbender.” She explains to Sokka’s stunned silence. And he didn’t even know that could be possible. 

“You’re a freak!” He whispers reverently, before his brain can stop his mouth. “I mean-” 

“Yeah, I am. The best of them” She gives him a thumbs up and picks one of Mai’s knives, sharpening its edge with her fingers. “I’m also a pro at finding out if someone is telling lies or getting worked up, good hearing, so don’t go lying or falling in love around me, I’ll totally snitch.” 

“Thanks for the heads-up.” Sokka gulps down, watching her work in silent fascination. After a while he speaks up again, a question that has been bothering him. “How old are you?”

She scrunches up her nose at him. “Old enough. Why?” 

Sokka raises his hands in a placating gesture, before remembering that she can’t see them. “Nothing it’s just, the big guy that you were with yesterday, is that your dad? Is he okay with you living with pirates and being in danger?” 

Toph snorts, embedding a knife into the wood with more force than necessary. 

“My dad was wounded fighting the Alliance and died from the infection. My mom and siblings are in the resistance, but she’s a tight-up, so here I am. And that was the Boulder. He’s my pony.” 

“The… Boulder? That’s not his real name, is it?” Because apparently that’s the part of the information that Sokka’s brain decided to focus on.

“Nah. He gave it to himself. His real name is Miyuki, so you see why.”

“You kidding, right?” Sokka chuckles “That’s like, a cat’s name, a lady cat’s name. Stop trying to pull my leg.” 

“I’m not.” Toph wiggles her eyebrows “And if I am, you’ll never find out. He won’t tell you.” 

“Ah, that’s just-” But before he can keep up the banter, a voice that he sadly does recognize, interrupts him. 

“Hey, landlubber!” Jet, the straw eating bastard that insulted sea prunes (and whacked him over the head) yesterday approaches them with an overly-rehearsed swaggle. Surely that guy practices how to walk like a douche in the mirror.

“Hey, asshole.” Sokka quips back, crossing his arms over his chest. He’s pretty sure he’s got some bulk over Jet, who sneers at him as if Sokka was a bug that he just found in his soup. 

“Brave attitude for a prisoner.” 

“Not much to be afraid of.” Sokka’s winding it but he can’t help raising to the bait. 

“Jet!” Toph calls out, twirling a knife in her hand. “Did you want anything from Sokka here?” And it occurs to Sokka it’s the first time she’s used his name. Jet, however, makes a sour face around that stupid straw, crossing his arms too. 

“Go to the captain’s cabin and tell him chew time is soon. He’s probably working or meditating.” 

“I don’t know where that is.”

“Down the hatch under the quarterdeck, the door at the very back. You can’t get lost if you have at least one brain cell.” 

“Why me?” 

“Coz the rest of us aren’t landlubbers.” 

Sokka turns to look at Toph. She waves him off as if giving permission, but there’s something in her smirk that he doesn’t like, still, with one last glare at Jet he walks past him, heading for the rear of the ship. 

“Oh! And make sure to knock until he opens you, so you can tell him face to face. He gets pretty mad otherwise.” Jet yells. 

Well, that makes no damn sense. But Sokka supposes pirate captains are entitled to a certain degree of weirdness. He’d rather not question how Zuko’s crew deals with their boss. He crosses the ship and follows up the stars to the quarterdeck, past Iroh at the helm, who smiles affably at him, and down the hatch. The space is filled with sleeping cots, blankets and bags, and he supposes that’s part of the sleeping quarters of the crew. At the back there’s indeed a door, leading to a space that must be directly below the navigation room. The captain’s quarters in the Northern ship were arranged similarly. 

Sokka steadies his breath and knocks. 

Nothing. He knocks again, stronger this time, and could swear he hears some noises from within. 

Knocks again. “It’s Sokka! Jet sent me!” He yells, and there's definitely something behind the door, a rustling, hushed voices, and steps approaching. The locks of the door turn and as it screeches open Sokka prepares to rely the message when he sees Zuko’s face, but instead of its gold-eyed, burned glory he sees- 

Boobs. 

Just… two female boobs. Like, medium-size, naked, very naked, with pink- uuuum… standing out, just… actual boobs. 

Oh, and Suki attached to them. Standing in the doorway, completely naked safe for her bottom underwear, with her top body in the air. 

“Jet sent you, huh?” She raises one eyebrow at him. 

“Uuuuh—-” Sokka’s brain basically stopped working, and for once his mouth doesn’t soldier through without its assistance. He just keeps glancing between Suki’s face and her breasts, at a complete loss for what to say. It’s not like he’s never seen a naked woman before (not like he’s seen all that many either), but among the things he didn’t expect to see today, boobs weren’t even on the bingo card. 

“I think you broke him.” A hoarse, male voice comes from within the chamber and only then he notices Zuko getting off the bed. And now _he_ is _completely_ naked. Like a baby. Except that he’s definitely not a baby, body wise. _Yeah, very eloquent._

Sokka’s mouth gets even drier if that was even possible. Zuko wraps a shawl around his hips, and walks towards the door. He comes to stand directly behind Suki and reaches around her waist to cup her breasts in his palms, one in each hand, blocking them from view. 

“Now you can talk. What did Jet want?” 

Sokka inspires sharply, but the initial shock has worn off, even if the picture in front of him is lewder than his first impression. 

“I uh— he said it’s… chew time? Eating?” He shakes his head, taking a step back. He’s afraid he got himself into trouble, but both Suki and Zuko look more amused than pissed off. In fact, she is grinning from ear to ear and Zuko… it may be the first time Sokka’s seen him smile. And it’s a cocky, mischievous thing, but not angry. Maybe they were already finished and Sokka didn't actually interrupt them mid- mid what? 

“Are you two _a thing?_ Like, together? Secret affair?” Because apparently once his stupid mouth is back, it’s back with _vengeance_. 

“I’m pretty sure it’s even in the file that the Alliance Navy got on us, so not exactly a secret.” Suki shrugs. “Also, everybody here knows not to bother us around this time if we’re both off-duty.” 

“Jet said-” 

“He set you up.” Zuko snorts, dropping his hands and turning to the inside of his cabin, picking up a shirt. Sokka, very pointedly, does _not_ look down at Suki’s boobs again. He was raised better than this, he’s a gentleman. 

“We’ll be there in ten minutes.” She promises and winks at him, closing the door afterwards. 

Sokka stays there, standing still for a good forty seconds, listening to the muffled laughter coming from inside. 

“Okay,” he whispers to himself. “ _That_ just happened.” 

He makes a point of glaring at Jet with his worst, most stinky and vengeful squint all throughout dinner assembly. The damn motherfucker just cackles at his expense, and so does Toph, but Sokka sticks to her side anyways. 

They get a bowl of fish stew each, a cup of water and a handful of dried peaches and berries. 

“Eat them.” Toph advises, “Or you’ll get sick. Your teeth and hair will fall out.” 

Sokka doesn’t have to be told twice, he’s famished, and the stew is not half-bad. Haru sits down on his left side with a smile and a bowl of his own, and Sokka appreciates the gesture, aimed to make him feel safer. 

The crew has stopped working, everyone gathering around the cauldron and sitting in a loose circle to eat, talk and taunt each other. The sun is setting, but the lanterns haven't been lit yet, it looks peaceful and even beautiful, this little gathering of people that live, work and know each other. Suki and Zuko sit surrounded by other crew members, on the floorboards and with the same rations as everybody else. She’s leaning on his shoulder, but speaking amicably to a girl a few spots away, while he’s focused on finishing his stew. 

“Hey, can we get any more water?” A girl that Sokka doesn’t recognize rattles the empty bucket. 

“If you didn’t get your portion, go get one cup, but we are rationing.” Zuko replies, not looking up from his bowl. 

“Aw,” another girl, that Sokka knows as Kira from Kyoshi, complains, slumping her shoulders. “is the machine still broken? Jeong-jeong what’s taking up so long?” 

A gruff older man with two long scars running down the right side of his face and crazy hair glares at her. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her. I just make her work. Ask Toph.” 

“Hey!” Toph raises her hands “You tell me what’s the problem - I fix it. But I can’t sense anything now so nu-uh.” 

“Machine?” Sokka whispers to Haru. 

“The water machine.” He whispers back. Sokka is officially intrigued. 

“Well we need to fix it. Zuko, Suki, the looted water will go stale soon, we can’t be mixing it with liquor again, that didn’t work out well last time.” 

“Yeah, Zuko we need the water machine back!”

“Zuko, what’s the plan?!”

“WELL THAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT IT!!?” Zuko explodes, yelling over the conundrum, fists banging on the floor and sparks flying from his mouth. 

Sokka almost jumps back, despite being seated, but nobody else even reacts, apparently unbothered by their captain’s rage outburst. Suki calmly reaches out with her spoon to tap over the embering spot, where one of the sparks fell, to extinguish it. Zuko settles back down, deflating in a matter of milliseconds. 

“I know it sucks,” he addresses the crew completely even “but until we can meet up on land with A-” his eyes flicker to Sokka’s for a moment “our _smart friend_ , we are stuck with looting water or resupplying on islands.”

“Jeong-jeong,” Suki points to the scruffy old man, “start boiling the daily supply up from tomorrow, we don’t want to get sick or to inebriate the kids again, like last time.” 

The one called Jeong-jeong nods as Zuko shots a fond look at Suki from the corner of his eye. Meanwhile, Toph slouches down next to Sokka. “Awww _maaan_ , I liked it last time.” 

“Because you almost blew up the ship.” Aang, the bald guy Sokka met last night, calls at her and she flips the bird in his general direction. “Shut up, Airhead, as if you were any better.” 

After dinner the crew gets ready for the night, tying up the necessary knots, securing whatever and dispersing to take care of personal business. Before he knows it, Sokka is lying on his back, staring at the dark roof of the common quarters. The hard floor, cushioned by a thin blanket, is nothing new to him, nor are the snores and hushed whispers in the darkness. 

But it’s familiar because he grew up in an igloo, and while he’s dead tired and emotionally exhausted, it’s in these night hours that the heat starts creeping up on him. He isn’t used to this warmer climate and it feels like the air is supercharged with vapor, old ship odors and sweat. The girl besides him rolls on her side with a mumble and throws her leg over him. She’s even hotter than the air, and not in a good way. 

On top of the physical discomfort, Sokka’s brain can’t stop spinning. What is he supposed to do now? Should he find a way out of this situation or let it play out, ride the wave? The lack of control has him on edge, and the uncertainty doesn’t help his creeping up anxiety.

He needs fresh air, he needs an open space and to breathe. 

Or to see his father, to hold his sister close and hear her voice. Hear her say that he should stop worrying because she’s fine, and will still be fine even if he’s not there to take care of her anymore. But that isn’t really an option now, is it? 

Carefully, trying not to jostle his sleeping neighbor, he extricates himself and, squinting in the darkness, steps over the snoring bodies and around hammocks until he reaches the staircase that leads up to the quarterdeck. 

The night air feels like a peppermint balm on burnt skin for his lungs. He inspires deeply and lets himself relax with the exhale, heading for the railing. 

“You know,” a voice interrupts his thoughts “a lesser man would suspect you of attempted sabotage, just lurking around at night when everyone else is asleep.” 

Sokka turns to see Zuko, slumped over the helm with his back to him. 

“I’m sorry.” He figures being suspected of sabotage is the last thing he needs right now. “I couldn't sleep, it’s too stuffy and hot in there,” and adds for good measure “I’m from the South Pole.”

Zuko hums, turning his head just barely as Sokka comes to stand by him, overlooking the empty ship deck below. “I literally grew up in a volcano, so can’t relate.” 

At Sokka’s dumbfounded expression he cracks a smirk, clarifying “a dormant one.”

“Oh, yeah, obviously.” Sokka feels silly. There’s something about the captain that makes him feel like he’s lost his footing, balancing on a block of ice in the middle of the frigid sea. “You know, I’ve never seen a firebender before.”

“Cannot say the same. I’ve seen non-Blessed people before.” 

“Har-har.” Sokka rolls his eyes, but he’s slightly pleased that he got Zuko to tell a joke. “Are there many Blessed in the Fire Nation?” 

Zuko shrugs, turning his palm up to produce a tiny wisp of flame that he bounces off his fingers, like anyone else would play with a flipping coin. It’s hypnotic, and Sokka can’t help but notice the shadows that Zuko’s eyelashes cast over his pale skin in the fugal orange light. He almost misses the answer:

“Not now. Apparently it used to be really common before we started the 80-year war, but since then the Blessings drastically declined to one or two in a thousand. It’s part of the reason why we couldn't keep up fighting and had to sign the treaty with the North. Lack of fighters and means to advance our firebending-forward tech. My uncle thinks it’s because Agni is angry at us.”

“Makes sense. You people really fucked up the world.” Sokka curses himself for saying that out loud, but Zuko just chuckles humorlessly. 

“Yeah, it’s one way to put it.” 

“What about yellow eyes? Is that common?” Sokka hurries to change the topic, trying to get away from sensitive issues. Zuko turns further towards him, cocky grin making said eyes twinkle. 

“Why? Are you going to tell me they are like pools of molten gold or something? Coz’ I heard that one before.” His tone drops an octave and Sokka feels a shiver run down his spine, his pulse picking up in his ears. What’s the best way to deflect? Oh, right… 

“More like dehydrated piss on snow.”

“...”

“ _Yaaaik!!_ -” Sokka barely dodges a honest-to-La fireball that Zuko launches at him. 

The fireball shoots past him, singing the ends of his wolf tail and dissipates in the night sky.

“ _Eeeek_ , sorry!” Sokka tries to steady himself but the tilt of the ship veering on its axis rocks his footing and he lands on his ass, hissing loudly. Zuko had pushed the helm with his other hand to make the toss and turned it a few degrees. 

Zuko lets out a string of profanities and readjusts the course, squinting at the stars. Someone below deck curses loudly and a few voices either shush or pick up the complaints. 

“Go back to sleep!!” Zuko bellows, stomping on the floor, and the rumor dies down. Sokka rubs at his tailbone and puts on his best puppy-seal eyes when the other man glares at him. 

“Sorry, it was a joke.” 

“You just _had_ to crap all over my only attractive feature, did you?” Zuko grumbles, and Sokka can’t help his bewilderment. 

“It’s certainly not your _only_ attractive feature!” 

“Oh?” Zuko’s glare turns into a smirk, and Sokka silently prays for the ship to capsize and drown his embarrassment. At least the captain is not angry at him anymore. Seriously, what’s with this lunatic going from murderous to calm and collected in the blink of an eye? 

He flops down on the floor and looks up at the stars, silently tracing the imaginary lines connecting them. 

“Aren’t you going down to sleep?” 

Sokka leans his head back, to look at Zuko upside-down. “Aren’t you?” 

“Suki will relieve me at dawn. And my uncle takes the evening shift.”

Sokka thinks about it. “I don’t know much about firefolk, but I read somewhere that you guys get your energy from the sun. So why are you sailing at night?”

Zuko shrugs. “Well precisely. I’m too itchy and high-strung during the day to stand still here for hours looking at nothing. And while we do get our energy from the sun, we also rest better in its embrace. It feels more rejuvenating, protective.”

“But doesn’t it get lonely?”

“Not really. I care about everyone in my crew, but so many people in tight quarters can be a bit too much. Even my cabin, I share it with Suki. I need my alone time or everything starts rubbing me wrong and I feel drained of patience. Besides, you’re not the only one to come here because you can’t sleep. Almost every other night someone different climbs up to chase away the insomnia.” 

Sokka thinks about that, in a way he understands where Zuko is coming from. Still tilting his head, he watches zuko pull out a compass, squint at the stars, and adjust course just a bit. The veer of the ship is gentle and barely noticeable at all this time. 

“Is it difficult? To navigate when there’s nothing in sight?” 

“Not really. But it takes practice, patience and skill. My uncle taught Suki and Me. I tried to teach Mai because she knows the sky charts already, but she gets bored easily and veers off-course.” 

“Hmm-” Sokka yawns, feeling relaxed and calm as the night air caresses his face and bare arms. “you should teach me. I know the stars and I’m very good with tech. Like, really good…” And it’s because his eyes are already closed that he doesn’t see the puzzled look Zuko gives him. 

Sometime around sunrise, Suki shakes him awake and he stumbles under deck to collapse in his cot, falling back asleep immediately. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes:  
> \- Landlubber (n): [pirate lingo] An inexperienced or clumsy person who doesn't have any sailing skills.  
> \- In this world they know about scurvy and how to prevent it (hence the dried fruit). The reason is because 1) Some cultures actually knew about that and how to prevent it, and 2) I want my pirate babes to be sexy and cool. Black, rotting teeth, flaky skin and death - are neither.  
> \- Blessings and Blessed (by spirits) is a way to refer to bending and benders of all types. 
> 
> This chapter and the following are all about setting the scene, but there's a plot, which will reveal itself soon. I promise ♥
> 
> How do you like the story so far tho? Was there anything in here that made you laugh or groan? Please let me know in the comments! =3=


	3. Blessings

“Ass up, Fresh Meat!” Sokka whines in protest but can’t really ignore that there’s a dirty foot on his face. He flops his arms around and rolls over, glaring murder at a cackling Toph. The blind menace grins down at his stomach and he resigns himself to abandon the sweet embrace of sleep in order to deal with yet another day of this craziness that his life has been dunked into. 

A look around the crew quarters confirms that it’s late, some people are still folding their cots or tugging on boots, but mostly everyone is out and, judging by the cacophony of feet above, already working. The exception is Aang, who’s just crawling in, munching on a piece of bread. He waves tiredly at the two of them and curls down in his hammock, falling asleep with the bread still in his mouth. 

Sokka stretches his body as soon as he’s out on the deck, blinking the remains of sleep out of his eyes. A girl that he doesn’t yet know passes by and nods at him, but before he can ask Toph about her name, she pulls him towards the helm, where Suki is discussing something with Mai, her hands firmly on the wheel. 

“All I’m saying,” the tall woman sighs “is that we can’t afford the risk.”

Suki shrugs it off. “Zuko thinks it’s worth it. And if the plan goes right-”

“Zuko also thought once that befriending a wild raccoon-possum was a good idea. I’ve known him for too long, I’ve earned the right to be skeptical.” 

“You’re skeptical about everything, Mai. But if it makes you feel better, Iroh approves, and so do I.” 

Mai grumbles under her breath something that sounds like “I’ve also known Iroh for long enough” but that’s when the two women notice their approach and Suki turns, breaking into a wide grin. 

“Sokka! Good morning, handsome.” 

Sokka falters, heat rushing to his cheeks at the unexpected compliment and beautiful smile. 

“What about me?!” Toph protests, huffing. 

Suki looks down at her “And good morning to you too, terrifying entity of Doom.” 

“That’s what I like to hear!”

“So Sokka, you told Zuko something about being good with machines?”

“Yeah” Sokka crosses his arms over his chest. “I mean, we didn’t get much interesting stuff in the South, but I had some access as the Chairman’s son and I was always good at figuring out how new things work.” 

Suki nods. “We’ll see about that. Toph, show him our problem. Maybe if you both go over it again, you’ll find something you missed the first time.” 

“I told you, there’s nothing that I can sense!” 

Suki shoots her a stern look, then seems to remember that won’t be effective and hardens her voice instead. 

“I still want you to do it, so do it.” 

Toph gumbles under her breath but yells out “Fiii _ ineee _ ” and pulls sharply on Sokka’s pants, almost making him fall. She guides him through the deck towards the head of the ship, but foregoes her working station and instead kicks open the forecastle door. When Sokka sees what’s inside, he can’t help but whistle in admiration.

“Now, that is this beauty?!” 

In the middle of the room stands a huge tank with valves and tubes sprouting from its top. A thin pipe heads up, but the bigger one disappears in a hole in the floor. The topmost hatch is lifted and it aligns with a square opening in the ceiling. 

“Our water machine!” Toph says proudly, fists on her hips. “A friend designed it, she’s like, super smart, and we built it because Zuko and Suki don’t wanna give us alcohol but it’s easy to get sick or run out of stored water.”

“Woaaah!!” Sokka’s practically vibrating, inspecting every part of the contraption. Now he’s interested! He’s heard of these kind of machines before, but in a purely theoretical sense. Some smaller ones were made and tried out before, but they were too cumbersome and the risk of a fire too great. “You boil saltwater, right? And that’s what the tubes are for, to guide the vapor until it condenses again?! That’s great! But how do you, uh, boil it? I don’t see a kiln. 

“Jeong-jeong heats up the tank. That’s like, his entire job.” Toph shrugs, as if that makes sense. 

“Yeah, but how?” 

“With his hands, duh.” 

Sokka blinks. Oh. Wait. “Jeong-jeong? That gruffy old man is a firebender?” 

“Yeah” Toph tilts her head up “Nobody told you?” 

“Well, no! Hold on, how many firebenders are on this ship? Zuko told me they are very rare now.” 

“Five.” Toph grins, and Sokka’s jaw drops. “We are hoarding them so the Fire Nation army can’t have them.” 

Great, up until a couple days ago, Sokka hadn’t seen a single firebender in his life. Now he’s on a ship with  _ five  _ of them. A  _ wooden  _ ship.

“Well who are the other three?” Because only Zuko and Jeong-jeong come to mind. Then he remembers something, in the spirit of boiling water with their hands… “Iroh?” There hadn’t been a cooking fire in the navigation room on his first night here, yet Iroh somehow made tea and kept it at a perfect temperature throughout their entire conversation. Sokka wonders why his brain didn’t process this information earlier, but he’s long ago made peace with its charms and special little quirks. 

“Yep!” Toph nods. “And since you’re so smart, I’m gonna let you figure out the last two on your own. Now, let’s get this over with.” She walks to one of the pipes and puts a hand on it. Sokka observes her and fiddles with a valve knob. 

“You trap the steam in the pipe by closing the valve. I figure there’s another at the other end, and possibly an escape?” Sokka, runs his hands over the machine, trying the turn of the knobs, the welding of the different parts that is so seamless he realizes it's just one piece, probably fused with Toph’s powers.

“There’s nothing wrong with the pipe, I can tell!” Toph complains. Still, they follow the pipe through the ship, checking it all over. Sokka actually makes himself useful by lifting Toph on his shoulders when it's high. The pipe runs along the wall of the ship, diagonally through the berth, right under the deck where the sleeping quarters and the galley are, and turns in a sharp V to disappear through the floor towards the orlop deck, full of cargo, supplies, gain, and the like. It ends in a drainage, blocked by another valve and outfitted with a small knob with a tiny hole to check the pressure. It’s a beautiful, absolutely brilliant piece of equipment and Sokka wants to make love to it. 

The problem is, just as Toph has pointed out, there seems to be nothing wrong with the pipe. When the top valve is open it should fill with steam from the boiling tank. When the pressure increases, whoever is downstairs to supervise (usually Chit Sang, Toph supplies) signals Jeong-jeong by banging on it, and he stops heating the tank, seals the top valve, and opens the extra one for residual release, that leads to the foredeck. The steam cools down in the main pipe and when the bottom valve opens, the crew gets a bucket of drinkable water distilled from the saltwater of the sea. In less than two hours of total work! 

Old, theoretical designs put to good practice by combining several types of bending. Sokka is impressed, but also puzzled. Because a couple of days before his kidnapping, after a small raid, it stopped working. They fill the tank with several buckets of water, boil it as always, but barely any freshwater comes out. A cup or two at most! The pressure doesn’t build up and Toph checked and rechecked for tears in the metal, breakage, valve torsion (it happens all the time during raids, when they have to tackle other vessels, but good thing she’s here, she says), obstructions… nothing. 

They return to the Foredeck and Toph huffs, throwing herself on the floor. This time Jeong-jeong is there too, stroking the sides of the tank as if it was his dying pet, with an absolutely miserable expression on his face. “Oh Marlee-” he sighs, and if Sokka wasn’t so intrigued, he would have made fun of him for giving the water machine a woman’s name. But what the hell’s wrong with it? It’s not the pipe, that’s for sure. Toph is a wonder of metalwork and can sense any little tear in the steel. 

Sokka picks his ass up from the ground and walks around the tank, inspecting it from all sides. Now, it might be just the low light but up close there’s something different about it. He touches it and it confirms his suspicions. 

“Hey Toph-”

“Hm?”

“You’re a metalbender. Which is super cool, I have never heard of that before. But like, is it a special talent of earthbending? Are you an earthbender too?”

She doesn’t move her head, but her toes wiggle in response. “Nah. I don’t know what’s the deal with me, I can only feel and work with metal.” 

“So that’s why you’re on a ship and not on land?”

Toph makes a noncommittal noise. “There’s so much metal here. The nails in the wood planks, the rivets, plaques, structural support, chains, panelling, weapons, armor… I can see everything here. I cannot on land.” 

“Oh.” Sokka wants to ask her more, because he’s honestly intrigued. But he is chasing a thought here- “But this tank is not made of metal.” 

“Volcanic granite. It distributes the heat better and holds up to fire.” She sits up. “But it’s fitted in perfectly with the metal pipes. I worked with a friend, who’s a skilled earthbender, to make it.” 

“Hmm-” Sokka runs a finger over a white line rising from the bottom (under the disapproving and weirdly obsessive squint of Jeong-jeong), his fingernail catches on it. “And what’s underneath the forecastle?” 

“The spare ship materials.” Jeong-jeong supplies. “Cloth for sails, spare rigging, timber, chains. Why?” 

“Has anybody been there for a while?” Both of his companions shrug. 

The entire spare sailcloth is  _ soaked _ . 

“Well, that would do it.” Jeong-jeong grumbles, lifting the flame in his palm higher and Sokka whistles, surveying the damage in the ceiling. 

“What, what is it?” Toph complains, and Sokka remembers that she can’t see it. 

“There’s a leak in through the ceiling, the wood is falling apart in one spot and your spare stuff is damp. I think the granite must have ruptured somehow underneath the tank and the prolonged exposure to heat damaged the wood. That’s why the pressure didn’t build up. The water soaked through the crack in the tank and down here.”

“Wow.” Toph actually sounds impressed. “Not bad at all, Fresh Meat.” 

“Call me Detective Sokka!” Sokka grins, giving her two thumbs up that she can’t know about. 

“Nah, you’re still Fresh Meat.” She huffs. “Call Cap and also The Boulder.” 

“Uh, why?” 

“He’s our only Earthbender.” Jeong-jeong rubs at the bridge of his nose, like it’s hard for him to even admit it “As dumb and untalented as the rocks he moves but even he should be able to fix a crack.”

More or less three hours later - the machine is finally ready for a test run. 

Half the crew is stuffed into the forecastle or snooping from outside, watching Jeong-jeong heat up the tank and sit there until Mai’s telltale rhythmic signal resonates through the pipes like the sweet melody of success. 

Sokka cheers with the rest, hands in the air and spilling out of the cramped room. Word that it was him who found the problem spreads like wildfire and suddenly he’s the hero of the hour, high-fiving everyone and accepting shoulder-pats and hair-ruffles from all around. Even a couple cheek-kisses. Wow, he could get used to this. 

It’s not until he turns away from the Boulder’s intend to bro-strangle him in a hug that he practically collides into Zuko and Suki, holding each other by the elbow. They are both grinning at him like they are proud and when Suki pulls him in for yet another kiss on the cheek, his heart skips a beat, skin tingling where her lips touch and warmth pooling in his stomach. All under Zuko’s intense but somehow undeniably pleased gaze. 

Sokka wants to preen. 

Instead he leans against the side of the ship, coy smirk of his own in place. “Does this mean we get to fill a tub for a bath each? Coz after so much brainwork I could go for a soak.” 

“Oh, you want a bath?” An annoying voice calls from the side. And before Sokka can brace himself, an absolutely unprompted Jet launches for his knees, lifting him up, and with a cry of “Bathtime!” throws him overboard. 

Sokka yelps, flailing his arms, and barely has any time to steel his body before he hits the frigid water hard. It surrounds him, bottomless and achingly blue, and he kicks his legs, erupting from it with a cough, gasping for air and heart racing a mile a minute. 

“Bathtime!” Ty Lee screams overhead, literally flying off the boat and balling herself up to hit the surface hard, while someone pushes the cackling Jet overboard as well, his laugh turning into a panicked screech, and Sokka feels vindicated. 

Zuko is screaming bloody murder up there but the ship is still moving, the keel passing them by. Luckily, someone throws a rope ladder from the quarterdeck and Sokka catches it just in time, coughing saltwater in mild panic. He feels tempted to shake off Jet, who’s clinging to his waist and shaking like a spoonful of jello in an earthquake, but figures murder by neglect is not the best way to end this day. Ty Lee, somehow managed to jump onto the ladder and her wet braid whips him across the face. 

By the time they’re pulled onto the deck, Suki’s holding onto a barrel, weak in the core from so much laughter, and there are tears running down her cheeks. However, Zuko is literally fuming, as in, there’s smoke coming out of his nose and ears, neck and face red like the blood-moon. 

“Jet. Navigation room. now.” He grits through his teeth, and spins on his axis, power-walking into said room as Jet, still wet and shivering, goes unbelievably pale. 

“Hey man, it was a joke!” But he hurries up after his captain nonetheless. 

“Jet’s gonna get himself marooned again~” One of the girls sing-songs, and Toph snorts. 

“One day, maybe.” Suki giggles, trying to recompose herself. “But not until we find somebody who’s a better cook. Or do you want Chit Sang in the kitchen again?”

“No!” answers a horrified chorus, while a single “Yes!” from The Boulder nearly drowns them out. 

Suki draps her arm over Sokka’s shoulder, the warmth a very welcoming comfort to his finely shivering body. “Aw, you poor thing. Are you hurt?” She coos. 

Sokka shakes his head. He’s been dunked into polar waters before, this is nothing. But he still feels like the breeze is not doing him any favors.

“No, but I hit the water hands first.” He rotates his wrist, feeling it tender and aching. 

“Alright, one of you take Sokka down to see Teo, the rest, back to work!” She orders, looking over the crew. 

“Me! I’ll take him!” Toph jumps, waving her hand. She grabs Sokka’s elbow and pulls him down below deck. 

Sokka hasn’t been to the infirmary yet, but he welcomes the warmth and the dry air. Teo smiles at him from behind his desk, abandoning the book he was reading. “I heard all the commotion, figured someone would come down here soon. Hello Toph. Sokka, you might want a change of clothes.”

Generally, Sokka would be more self-conscious about undressing in front of people, but Toph is blind and Teo is a medic, so he’s probably seen more private parts than most people. Besides, he doesn’t have anything to be ashamed of and getting rid of his damp clothes and wrapping himself in the warm comfort of a thick blanket is worth everything. 

Teo wheels away from his desk and comes to inspect Sokka’s wrist, turning it lightly and rubbing over some spots. Sokka entertains himself by looking at the display of jars, pots and satchels covering the entire wall behind Teo’s desk. 

“It’s nothing.” The medic declares. “I’m just gonna wrap it so you don’t jostle it too much, keep it up for a couple days.”

“Glad to know I’m not gonna lose my hand.” Sokka jokes, and Teo grins at him. 

“Well Nisa did. Got it chopped off during a raid. She replaced it with a knife and seems pretty content, so I don’t know, maybe it’s worth the trade.” 

Sokka remembers a rowdy, stocky gal eating jerky straight from her knife-hand at breakfast. 

“Handy.” 

Teo snorts and Toph groans, jumping on the bed beside him. Sokka’s attention is again drawn to the instruments and pots behind the mesh doors of the cabinets. There are scrolls and notebooks and posters with diagrams everywhere too. 

“Are you a scientist, Teo?” 

“I try to be.” He looks over at his haven. “I study chemistry, herbology, anatomy… all the stuff that can help over here, you know. I also make soap, healing balms, anticonceptives, cold medicine…” 

“His daddy had dough.” Toph pipes up. “Got him an education and all, like a proper society boy.” 

“Your dad?” Sokka turns to Teo, who shrugs. 

“Yeah, he was sort of a genius himself. Made a lot of money with agricultural innovations. But we were involved in the resistance on the Continent, and when the Alliance found out and he refused to work for them in return for his life… Well, I’m not much of a society boy anymore.” And there’s melancholy in his voice, but Sokka has the incling it’s not for his former status. 

“I’m sorry, about your dad.” And because condolences alone never do it “I lost some family to the North too, including my mom. They called it an accident but-” 

Teo gives him a grateful, little smile but Toph kicks him lightly. “Eh, we’re all in the same boat here.” and seemingly recognizing her impromptu pun chuckles before continuing. “We’ve got from prison crooks to royalty, scholars to street rats. And everyone’s had some sort of  _ accident _ with the Alliance at some point in their lives.”

Sokka thinks back about what she’d told him about her own family then something that she just said registers to him “Royalty?” 

“Yeah, Sparky.” She says at the same time that Teo exclaims “Toph!” 

Sokka makes a face. Surely Toph must be pulling his leg, right? Although Teo’s reaction is weird, it’s probably because he’s a good guy with a bleeding heart and impeccable empathy that doesn’t do lies and other heinous crimes, such as mocking clueless new friends. 

“Is this another ‘go call the captain for dinner’ prank? You people never stop.”

Toph opens her mouth to protest but seems to think better of it and just asks instead about what he knows about bombs. Which is how Sokka learns that Teo and her are trying to design some new ones for raids. They get pretty into it, losing track of time until a bell rings above. 

“Ah, dinner.” Teo rubs his hands together. 

“Do you want me to carry you?” Sokka offers. 

“Well, usually Haru comes to get me, but sure.” 

Haru meets them halfway up, takes one look at Teo in Sokka’s arms, scrunches up his nose, plucks him right up from there, grumbling something under his breath, and carries him himself the rest of the way. Toph just snickers as Sokka stands there blinking in confusion for a good few beats, arms still in princess-carry position. 

“Did I just get on Haru’s bad side?”

“He’ll forgive you.” Toph assures him. 

Dinner is… burnt. 

It’s not like Sokka ever expected anything fancy onboard of a pirate ship, but this is ridiculous. He eats his daily dose of berries, downs four cups of freshly-distilled water, but pokes distrustfully at the charred lumps that are supposedly meant to be edible. The rest of the crew are either doing the same or mournfully chewing their coals. Except for the Boulder, who announces his undying love for bitter food. 

“Jet was busy getting his ass chewed up for being irresponsible, so Chit Sang insisted he would cook.” Haru explains, when half of the crew has already left, apparently giving up on their appetite. He seems to have completely forgotten his jealousy fit against Sokka in face of a shared tragedy. 

“Why did it have to be Chit Sang if he’s notorious for being bad?”

“Because our kitchen has been arranged for firebenders to work better and it’s a mess to do anything in any other way.” Aang chimes in, jumping from the ratline and landing on the deck with a strong gust of wind. 

Sokka isn’t even surprised at this point anymore, but he still drops his spoon. For effect. 

“Are you going to tell me that it’s a coincidence that you have two supposedly extinct airbenders on board? Didn’t the Fire Nation kill everyone in the High Temples a hundred years ago?” And just as he says it he realizes how bad that sounds. Several people frown at him, or look down at their bowls (mostly the firefolk). “I’m sorry-” he tries to apologize to Aang. “I didn’t mean it like…” 

“It’s okay.” Aang gives him a tight-lipped smile. “It’s not actually a coincidence. And it’s true that the Fire Nation burned the High Temples, but the people that were away on trips or managed to escape went into hiding, sometimes even in plain sight. I mean, we are still being hunted down and sometimes the Four Protectors bless us when we would rather not, for our own safety.” His eyes flicker upwards for a second “But… I think that’s their way of telling us not to give up. We were exterminated for rebelling the first time. We’ll keep rebelling.” 

Sokka can emphasize with that sentiment. 

“We are not taught about it in the Fire Nation tho.” Jeong-jeong mumbles somberly, picking at his burnt chunks. “It’s hard to fully comprehend such truth once you learn it, even if you have seen the terror of war with your own eyes.” He looks up at Zuko, who’s sitting with Suki at the opposite side of the circle, eyes closed and mouth set in a tight line, and then turns to Sokka. “We have hope now, to do better in the future, but some of our mistakes will never be redeemed. I know it’s not only the High Temples that suffered destruction at our hands, so did your people, especially those blessed by Tui and La.”

Sokka nods. The mood has grown somber around the crew, and it’s his fault, but he doesn’t know what to say. These people have made peace and forgiven each other, they trust each other with their lives, but he’s a newcomer, and temporary at that. There are hurtful words on the tip of his tongue, but he knows he can’t say them. The centuries of war left bruises and deep scars, but it wasn't Jeong-jeong or Zuko who came down to personally deliver the blows. Taking it out on them won’t help his situation, and won’t feel right either, he knows it.

Besides, it’s not really the Fire Nation what cripples the South anymore. 

He decides to lead with that. “The fire Nation attacked us in waves during the war, battled us and retreated, taking away all our Blessed. We weren’t worth much, except to keep down, least we decided to fight and help the North. It was horrible, but at least it was a real war. Then, it ended. We thought the worst was over and when the North came, they told us that they would help us, take care of us, heal us. Instead…” 

He balls up his fists. _Now_ this he knows, this is the reality he was born into. And it’s  _ personal _ . “It’s hardly any better for our Blessed now. The North has always been afraid that if they allowed powerful benders to grow up among us, we would use them to fight back. So they started “tutoring” them. They told us it was for our own good, but we knew that these “schools” were little more than brainwashing institutions. Then, almost fifteen years ago, an incident happened. One of the most powerful and rebellious children, a ten year old girl, went berserk — she was a second-cousin of mine, too. — Anyway, she found out her family had been executed for suspected ties to the rebellion. The girl blew up the complex she was held in, completely annihilated the Northern facilities, buried them in the snow, and took down dozens of soldiers before she was subdued. But there were casualties of our own as well, two dead and eight severely wounded.

She was shipped away in chains to the North, they wouldn't get rid of a weapon that powerful right away, I guess. We never found out what happened to her, but rumor says the ship never reached the North, it sank along the way with everyone on board. Ever since then, learning waterbending has been outlawed. Those who are found out to be Blessed are either heavily guarded or taken away, never to be seen again.”

“I know that story!” Toph speaks up. “Isn’t that-?”

Zuko stomps his foot down, interrupting her. “Toph, silence.” And there’s an edge to his voice. He gives Sokka a tight-lipped smile when their eyes meet. “Please continue.” 

Sokka frowns. What’s that about now? But there’s an idea forming quickly in his brain and he feels like he needs to chase it; a point that he has to make and maybe a favor to ask, taking advantage of the mood. 

“My sister,” He swallows down the fear. It’s a big confession to make “she’s had eyes on her ever since she accidentally was revealed as Blessed by some traitor. I worry about her, now that I’m gone. She was allowed to stay home because she’s the chairman’s daughter, and because she was assumed to be meek and weak, barely able to lift droplets during tests, but I know…. I know how strong she actually is. She’s always been powerful enough to be able to hide her abilities, but since mom’s passing, her control has been slipping. I used to sing to her to soothe her energy. Now what I’m not there… if they realize... I’m worried about her.” 

Sokka feels arms around his frame and leans into them. There’s a respectful silence around, but he can barely make out the faces of the crew around him in the dimming light. All he can see behind his eyelids is Katara’s face when they said goodbye. He sniffles into his hand and rubs at his eyes, searching for Zuko and Suki across the circle. “Is there, maybe, a way to contact my family? I know I shouldn't be asking for favors, but I don’t want them to think I’m being tortured or already dead, and even less for her to put herself in danger by losing control of her emotions.” 

He knows he should wait until he’s back in the hands of the North, that it’s only a matter of time, but he thinks of Katara receiving the news of his kidnapping and his insides churn. 

Zuko and Suki exchange a series of looks, a silent conversation that only they are privy to. Sokka expects them to tell him to wait, tell him that they’re not a messaging service, but then Suki stands up and walks slowly to him. She kneels in front of him and tentatively takes his hand between her own. They are warm and callused, and they make him feel weirdly safe. 

“We have… friends, on land,” She says with a reassuring smile “one of them has access to many places, including the South Pole. I can’t make any promises, but we’ll write to him and see what he can do.”

Sokka’s so grateful he feels like he could kiss her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The history of the on-ship distilling machines is fascinating. Many cultures through centuries came up with designs and tried to implement them but it's not until the first steamboats (made of fireproof metal) that it was made possible. However they were still rather cumbersome and delicate, so not very viable at first. I just love this random bit of history and couldn't resist squeezing it in because COLLABORATIVE BENDING WOULD SOLVE IT ALL BABEY. 
> 
> Also, some cogs have been put in motion here, but this was still a stage-setting/character introduction chapter, and probably my least favorite one. I hate how it's written and the wobbly transitions. Maybe I could rewrite it in the future... Any advice on that, guys? 
> 
> But the next update's gonna get some good shit stirring, I promise ;)


	4. Tricks and ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I fucking love this chapter!!!

Sokka counts the hours. It’s easy out here, where days and nights are so boldly marked, unlike at home where sometimes the sun never sets and never rises. And he misses little things that he thought he would never miss (like the sound the cracking glaciers carry through the tundra like a roll of thunder) but also important things he always knew he’d miss if he ever lost them (like Katara’s smiles and gran-gran’s ambient snores). 

Seven days and six nights. 

He’s getting used to the rhythm aboard. Only once disturbed by a raid on a merchant vessel. He had been ordered to stay in the infirmary the whole time and then help Teo treat the wounded. Nothing serious, just one minor stab wound and some bruises all around. Fun fact, that ship, apart from money and some expensive fabrics, mostly transported cabbages. Jet’s been having a party in the kitchen for the past two days. Turns out the crazy cook l _oooves_ himself some cabbages. 

But today’s been one of the easy days so far. Then, after dinner with the crew (more cabbages, of course), Sokka gets invited to the captain’s cabin for a private word with Suki and Zuko. 

The message is delivered by Mai, who just shrugs at his confused expression and goes to fetch her own bowl of cabbage stew. 

“To what do I owe the honor?” Sokka laughs nervously as he opens the door to find the captain and his right hand seated on either side of a low table in the middle of their cabin. Sokka hasn’t seen the inside of it since he’d accidentally walked on them post sex. And the memory is what’s making him giddy right now. But luckily, they are both clothed. Zuko’s leaning with his back on the side of his bed, his bad eye closed, as it often is. Suki’s posture is as impeccable as always, even as she waves him in and invites him to sit. 

There’s a steaming tea-set on the table and some sweet dumplings with sugary egg glaze.

“Did Jet make those?” Sokka is honestly surprised. 

“Nah, ‘tis the captain’s stash from the raid.” Suki grins “We saved them for today, help yourself.” 

“What’s the occasion?” Sokka asks tentatively, even as he already picks up a pastry. 

“We need to discuss some things.” Zuko supplies, picking up the teapot to serve them. “Momo came back yesterday.”

“Who?”

“Our messenger seagull-kite. Carrying the answer from the Alliance Navy. They’ve agreed to our terms.” 

“Oh.” Sokka’s stomach drops, the sweet pastry in his mouth suddenly turning to ash. It’s not like he’d forgotten that he was on this ship as a bargaining chip. A prisoner as much as he was to the North before getting kidnapped. The Blue Spirit asked for money in return for Sokka, and apparently the North decided that parting with a few gold coins was worth to ensure Sokka’s extensive family, full of war heroes and respected elders, didn’t use their influence to instigate rebellious ideas in the South. 

It’s not like he’d forgotten it, he’s just been trying not to think about it too often. 

“Here are the terms we agreed on for the exchange.” Suki says, making a space in the center of the table to unroll a map of the area. She points to a crude shape in the middle of nowhere. “This is Daroto Island, uninhabited except for birds and iguanas. It can be crossed within a forty minute walk. We dock on the eastern shore, the Alliance vessels, on the western. We — the captains and three other people for each party — meet up at noon in the middle, on opposite sides of the central saltlake, and exchange the prisoner, that is, you,” she points at Sokka, as if it wasn’t clear enough already “for the gold. One of us walks up to them, takes the satchel, and then you and him walk towards your respective sides by rounding the lake simultaneously.” 

Sokka’s stomach turns, the corners of his lips quirking up despite the panic in his eyes. 

“So, what do you think about the plan?” Suki asks him, as if his opinion matters. 

“It’s horrible,” he manages to squeeze out despite the lump growing in this throat. “It’s too risky. There’s no guarantee they’ll honor the agreement and not set you a trap, bring a platoon of soldiers or pursue you. It’s a stupid plan.” 

“Agreed.” Zuko says, taking a sip of his tea. “Which is why we’re not doing it.” 

Sokka’s head snaps “what?” 

Suki grins, rolling up the map and tapping it against Sokka’s forehead. “C’mon. We’re not that dumb. And we’re pirates. The Alliance won’t negotiate with pirates for someone whose life they don’t even care about-”

“Gee, thanks.”

She waves his indignation away, “when we took you, we thought you were important to them, a high member of Northern society with a politically positioned daddy or a fat wallet. We let go of your ship with a message accounting for that. But you’re not!”

“You knew since day one your plan wouldn't work?” 

“Pretty much. Your real value wouldn’t be worth the trouble for us. We know how these people think. The only reason they agreed to our stupidly-inflated ransom is because they’re trying to catch us. Sure, they took you to manipulate your family, but it’s a slim investment. Sending back a meager counter-offer would have been the sensible thing to do. No, it’s obvious they’re setting up an ambush.”

“Which is why,” Zuko says “we’re setting one up for them in return.”

“So that’s your real plan? And it doesn’t involve me?” Sokka asks, hopeful, hands gripping his cup so hard his digits hurt.

“Not necessarily. But that’s what we wanted to talk to you about.” Suki gives him a tight-lipped smile. “Your options.” 

“My options?”

“You can’t really return home, do you?” That much is true. Sokka knew that, but hearing her say it out loud makes him a little bit sick. “But we can’t just let you go either, you know too much about us, so you have two options.” 

Zuko leans back a bit, and Sokka notices that he’s playing with something in his hand, rolling it around his fingers like he usually does with his flames. At first he thinks it’s a coin, but it looks like wood.

“Does either of those involve you killing me to silence me forever?”

Suki thinks about it for a second. “You have _three_ options.”

“Yeah no, hard pass on that one.”

“Hmm…” Zuko examines him critically from the corner of his eye “You don’t have to decide now,” the captain says “in fact, I’d recommend you to think well of what it is that you want to live or are willing to die for.” 

He sets the little round piece on the table and pushes it towards Sokka, who recognizes it from his father’s old pai-sho set. 

The white lotus tile. 

He raises his eyes at Zuko, not comprehending, but it’s Suki who continues: “The Earth Continent is a big landmass. Hundreds of thousands of miles of coastline, forests, deserts… The Alliance cannot control every little thing that happens in it. And we have friends that use that to their benefit.”

“You’re linked to the Earthen Resistance.” Sokka had gathered that much since day one. 

“Our mother organization.” Suki chimes in. “You could settle down in one of the villages friendly to the cause, meet a beautiful girl, have a farm, raise a family of three kids and a sheep-dog, and only occasionally help by harboring fleeing members or passing out supplies. I think we’ve seen enough of you these days to trust you with that much, and it would allow you to have a normal, calm life, if that’s what you want.” 

It sounds nice. The kind of future he’s always pictured for himself, that his father would want for him. He thinks of children carrying on his family name, and of quiet evenings around the hearth, sharing myths and legends of the South Pole, teaching them where they come from. Certainly so much better than being stuck in the North, surrounded by enemies and rolling around in his anxious paranoia. 

“What’s my second option?” 

“You prove yourself.” Zuko says pointedly. 

“I’ve been watching you work around the ship.” Suki explains. “You’re a strong and resourceful guy. But do you have what it takes to fight? To put your life on the line or take it from another human?”

“I-” 

“Try it out if you want. Join us in the ambush and prove your worth, show us what you can offer, and then we can talk about giving you a more frontal role in the resistance, if that’s what you’d prefer.” 

  
  
  


The next day, Sokka pulls Toph aside first thing in the morning. 

“It’s a little different, but if I guide you, do you think you could make something for me?” 

“Sure,” she grins, “I love me a challenge.” 

  
  


Sokka hasn’t seen much greenery in this life and Daroto Island continues to uphold the theme. A barren wasteland of black volcanic rock, still steaming in some parts, mounts upon mounts of nothingness covered in bird poop and lounging marine iguanas snorting excess salt from their nostrils. 

The coastline is gruff and uneven, which suits them perfectly. At the break of dawn the Blue Spirit sails around the island. Instead of staying on the eastern shore it heads north, against the wind (not a big deal with two airbenders on board) and docks in a small, secluded bay, well hidden behind some cliff arches. 

They wait until early noon, when a bird whistle that sounds suspiciously like Ty Lee to trained ears alerts them that it’s time to move. 

They disembark and creep closer until the western shore is in sight. Four Alliance war vessels, Fire Nation’s latest model, are floating in a line formation along the coast but not docking. In fact, the farthest two are getting ready to veer south, probably to ambush the Blue Spirit. Meanwhile, tree platoons of soldiers are disembarking on land. _“Flattering”_ Zuko mutters, next to Sokka. 

He gives the signal, and the group moves as planned. Aang creates a bubble of air around and keeps them breathing while they creep under the surface, weighed down by rocks, allowing them to come closer to the ships without being seen. Once close enough, Sokka gets on Chit Sang’s shoulders, who heats the water around in currents, allowing them to float more steadily. 

Using his heavily gloved hand, Sokka checks on his brand new metal boomerangs holstered on his back. He’s got six of them, thin and wicked sharp. Back at home, his tribe uses bone boomerangs to hunt on wide plains. If they don’t hit their target they come back. But these ones are not meant to return, least Sokka wants to say goodbye to his fingers. Top’s best sharpening job is frightening. They are designed to roam from obstacle to obstacle, cutting cloth, rope and flesh alike. He takes out the first one and aims. It’s much heavier than what he’s used to, but luckily he’s got strong arms. 

Just then a commotion on the ship farthest from them gets everyone’s attention. This must be the distraction that The Boulder and Ty Lee prepared. It doubles as a sabotage, as a big chunk of rock dragged from land, breaks through the ship’s keel with earthbender speed, causing a terrible leak. 

The crew of the ship they’re closest to runs to the other side to see what’s happening and Chit Sang propels Sokka up just enough for him to throw his boomerang. It slices through the mainsail, bounces off the chains and cuts one of the mizzen ropes enough to make it snap. 

With the sail plummeting down, and the fore yard swinging off its side, as a distraction, the rest of the team throws groping hooks and begins to climb aboard, while Aang, Chit Sang and Sokka move quickly to the next ship. Once they’re close enough, Sokka repeats his boomerang throw twice, followed by a smoke bomb, causing a distraction while Chit Sang sends a stream of fire under the beak that takes a while to catch on, given the state of the outer wood. They move onto the third ship and do the same, reuniting then with Ty Lee and The Boulder. The five of them return as quickly as they can, trying to stay hidden underwater with wind tricks and Chit Sang’s hot water bursts, fighting against the sea while the entire bay is in disarray. 

The furthermost ship, the one with the hole, is sinking. The middle two just managed to recover from the surprise of their sails dropping on top of them enough to realize that not all of the smoke was coming from the bombs, but the fires are too strong now to be put out, having spread to the deck. 

The first one is being completely overtaken by the rest of their team, led by Zuko. 

Sokka catches a sack of something when it’s thrown at him, but then Suki yells “the soldiers are coming back! Retreat!” and the crew scrambles down, taking with them whatever’s at hand. With the help of the airbenders, two stolen boats, and the cover that the fleeing crews of the ships provide, they hastily retreat. And it’s the Blue Spirit what the Alliance notices first, emerging from the island’s side with Iroh at the helm. There are boats full of soldiers trying to row towards them, but the main ships are either sinking, burning, or both, not in any condition to pursue. One of them launches a harpoon, but it doesn’t even come close. The crew climbs up the ladders of their own ship, pulls up the loots, and as Aang and Ty Lee fill the sails with wind, leave the burning mayhem behind. 

Sokka collapses against the railing. His muscles are screaming at him, adrenaline crashing down, he’s swallowed too much saltwater and his lungs feel like a sludge bog. The entire crew are more of the same, Ty Lee and Aang practically crashing to the ground in a state of utter exhaustion once they are far enough from Daroto Island. Suki is bleeding from her thigh but gets it bandaged with a loose rag and ignores it in favor of helping one of her girls to the infirmary. Haru is downstairs helping Teo. Zuko is calling attendance and taking note of the state of everyone present, and Toph is snoring loudly with her head hanging down a long boat. 

“Did we just take down _four_ fully-armed war vessels?” Sokka mumbles from where he’s still sprawled on the floor. 

“That we did.” Mai answers, coming to sit next to him. She’s got a nasty bruise flourishing on her jaw “They were top-of-the-line too, the Alliance will feel that one. Good job.” She turns to him, and there’s a discreet smile of approval on her lips. It’s a rare sight and Sokka feels like he’s just been handed the highest praise, so he grins broad and proud, suddenly feeling on top of the world. 

They drop anchor at an atoll that night and instead of a typical dinner there’s a party on board. No cabbage allowed. 

“We got some gold, a lot of medical supplies, the replacements for sailing instruments that Uncle needed, some food and, most importantly, left four top-tier battleships from the Alliance’s elite Navy completely out of commission! These won’t be attacking any of our own anytime soon!” Suki declares, raising her bottle. “Let’s celebrate, you glorious bastards!!” 

After the round of applause and whistles there’s music, as Iroh and some of the girls break out horns, string instruments or just bang on empty barrels to a beat. Jeong-jeong and Jet perform fire tricks, juggling and twirling shapes of dragons, birds and sharks around. The oldest members of the crew pass around bottles of shochu, sake and rum, and Sokka is pretty sure the kids broke into the supply somehow, if Aang and Toph going absolutely bananas wrestling each other is of any indication. Teo sings some pretty raunchy shanty that mortifies half of his audience and gets a chant for another song from the other half. 

Sokka is feeling fairly relaxed, snickering at the scene, when arms wrap around his elbow. It’s Suki, and in the low light of the lanterns she looks like a goddess sculpted in bronze. 

Zuko drapes his arm over Sokka’s shoulders, coming up to his other side, and he lets himself be dragged by them to the poop deck, above the roof of the navigation room. In the space between the chains and rigs supporting the mizzen sails, they collapse in a heap, looking up at the sky littered with an infinity of stars. Suki passes him a bottle of shochu and Sokka takes a good swing. His head rests on Suki’s leg, and Zuko is a welcome warmth by his side, their feet thrown one over the other. 

“Congratulations.” Zuko says, taking the bottle and making good work of it. “You’ve more than proved yourself today, kid.” 

“Kid?” Sokka snorts. “You’re what? A year or two older than me?” 

“Depends. How old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

“Yeah, a year then.”

“Really?” Sokka tilts his head to look at Zuko, but he can only see his burnt side, which is not very expressive. “How long have you been at sea?”

“We’ve been sailing for three years now.” Suki says, propping herself up on one elbow. “A lot of mistakes were made at first, but we’re pretty good at it now.”

“If we say so ourselves.” Zuko snorts, making grabby hands for the bottle in her possession. “Have you thought already about what you want to do?” 

It takes Sokka’s buzzed brain a few minutes to realize he’s talking to him. And he had. He'd thought of little else since the question was posed to him. What did he want to do with his life? How could he make it matter?

“I don’t know.” He confesses. “I’m not sure if I want to hide away in some village and spend my life contributing nothing, no matter how good a quiet future sounds right now, not when there are people actively fighting against the Alliance.” It might be a fool’s errand, but at least they’re doing something, right? “How did you two choose? What made you go for the second option?”

Zuko scrambles to sit up, cross legged with Suki sprawling herself on his lap. Sokka rolls on his stomach to be able to look at them. Zuko’s face is somber. “Losing our first.” He simply says. “Twice in my case.” 

He doesn’t elaborate, but Suki picks it up “I was born and raised on Kyoshi Island. My parents died when I was little from fevers, but we were a tight-knit community, you know? Kyoshi Island remained neutral during the war. We protected ourselves and only ourselves, didn’t interfere but didn’t let ourselves be conquered either. We use a fighting method developed by our legendary founder queen centuries ago, that turns our enemy's strength against them, and we had a protector.” She extends her arm, showing off the sea-serpent tattoo. “I have seen very few outsiders before, until two washed up on our shores asking for sanctuary, seven years ago, now. And firefolk at that!”

Zuko sighs “I was practically dead and had nothing but a couple trinkets to my name, but my Uncle had been secretly involved with the resistance for years. He knew the mayor of the village, and so he left me on Kyoshi, visiting often, to make sure I would be safe and recovered from my injury away from the world.” He points one finger at his scar.

“I volunteered to take him in.” Suki continues “I nursed him back to health, showed him the ropes of rural life, and we sorta latched onto each other.” 

“This was our default plan, you know? To live a quiet life, get married, raise a family.”

Suki chuckles, reaching out to tenderly cup Zuko’s cheek in her hand. “I still want a big, fluffy sheepdog.” 

“Someday.” Zuko promises in a reverent whisper, tilting his face to kiss the inside of her wrist. 

It’s an intimate scene, but somehow Sokka doesn’t feel like turning his eyes away. “What happened?” He asks instead, although he’s pretty sure he knows the answer. 

“The North needed to make an example out of the islands and towns that still resisted.” Suki scrunches up her face, dropping her hand “and I guess our unconquered home just rubbed them the wrong way. They came in a fleet; a dozen top-of-the-line ships manufactured in the Fire Nation, as many benders as they could spare, bombs, catapults and harpoon launchers, everything. They killed the Unagi. It was their first show of strength.” She grits her teeth, eyes shining, and Zuko takes her hand, reaching down to swipe his thumb over the corners of her eyes. 

“They attacked our village and the other two in one night.” He continues. “Took the fighters that got captured and some leaders as prisoners, but mostly spared no life that resisted. Our guards were good, but they had the numbers on their side.” 

“Suki and I got separated. I ended up hiding with a few people that I helped to escape in the forests, but it didn’t look good, and I didn’t even know if she was alive or dead, or my uncle.” 

“I was being held hostage on the flagship, with several of my girls and a few village elders, including Iroh, that chose a bad week to visit. The Alliance never passes up an opportunity to enlist good soldiers, they told us that for a gaggle of teen girls we made quite a dent, so if we behaved and served them instead, our villages would be spared. But that’s not how it works for the Kyoshi Warriors. We don’t give in, we either fight to the death in order to protect our home or we go down with it. There’s no worse stigma than cowardice.” 

Zuko continues “There were talks among the soldiers that the woods we were hiding in would be wiped off clean, burned down, in a week, unless we gave up. Mayu and Kira were with me and we overheard it on a scouting mission. We also captured a couple soldiers and squeezed out of them where the prisoners were being held. When I heard about what sounded like Suki and my Uncle I had to make sure. So I put on an old blue theater mask that my mom had been fond of, one of the few things that I’ve brought from home, and infiltrated the ship.”

“Long story short,” Suki grins, “we hatched a plan. See? Cap here is very sneaky.”

“I was trained in stealth since childhood.” Zuko shrugs. “I terrorized the ship for days, acting as a poltergeist. The prisoners told the crew that the spirit of the Unagi had come back to haunt them. By the end of the week, almost nobody wanted to remain there, half of the soldiers preferred to sleep on land. The night before the Island was meant to be totaled, I stole the key of the cells and let everyone out. We overtook the remaining crew easily and stole their uniforms, then assisted the rest of the warriors in ambushing the next ship over. We then sailed as well as we could — considering our inexperience and that we were holding the original navigators at knifepoint — to the other side of the island, where the survivors were waiting. We loaded them up and they pursued us, but we managed to get away with two ships and at least some of our people.”

“We saw the bombs go out from afar, the forests set on fire.” Suki whispers. “There was no home for us to come back to anymore. Kyoshi is an Alliance stronghold now.”

“I’m sorry.” Sokka says, even though he knows condolences don’t really cut it. “What happened to everyone?” 

“We delivered our people to Earthen Resistance, officially making friends with the order of the White Lotus. The second ship was too damaged during the pursuit, but the first one we loaded with everyone angry and ready to fight, and sailed on, picking up useful strays here and there over the years.” 

“Wait-” Sokka props himself up “don’t tell me that…” 

Zuko taps the wood under his foot. “It’s _this_ ship.” 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah,” Suki turns in Zuko’s lap, prepping her face on his hip, grinning at Sokka. “The _blue spirit_ is what the soldiers called that pesky, angry ghost that kept poisoning their food and jumping from dark corners to blow hot sand in their faces, so it stuck. In honor of that name, we continue being a proud pain in the ass to the Alliance.”

Sokka can’t help it, he laughs. He laughs because as terrible as everything is, there are still pockets of joy and pride left in the world. He laughs because the night is warm, and the company is amazing and because they’ve still got half a bottle of liquor, and because he feels free and light but pleasantly tired for the first time in years. 

“Stay with us.” Zuko whispers, as they lie down in a heap again, exhausted after the day they’ve had and the emotional downpour. The party has died down on the docks below and the soft breeze feels comfortable on Sokka’s skin. He wouldn't want to move a single limb for anything in the world. 

“I’m not going anywhere” he answers, just as quietly. 

The back of Zuko’s hand finds his own, just a phantom touch but it spreads warmth through Sokka’s arm. “That’s not what I meant.” 

“I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *VIBRATING WITH EXCITEMENT*  
> So many things happened here!! The conversation in the cabin, the ambush, the fight, the party, the tale of Kyoshi, aaaah~ Come yell at me in the comments because I'm really glad this chapter is out and I would love to get some feedback!


	5. Thunderstorm

Sokka gets his earrings first thing in the morning. 

He swears an oath first, which feels overly ritualistic but the crew loves it, so why not? He sees a few hands discreetly exchange money and can easily guess what the bet was about. Mai takes him to their haul of looted jewelry to sell and he finds a pair of whalebone hooks that are just perfect, but Iroh recommends to go with silver for the first couple of weeks, to prevent infection. 

Turns out the earrings are part of a superstition that all pirates across the seas share. “My old crew did it too.” Jet grumbles, still chewing on that strand of wheat that Sokka’s since learned, much to his amusement, that the cook brings in bulks from land, just for the aesthetic. “It’s supposed to ward off bad luck and save us from sinking. A whole load of bullshit if you ask me.” 

“In any case, it doesn’t hurt.” Suki shrugs. “And they make everyone look handsome.” 

Sokka is not very sold on the whole “It doesn’t hurt” thing. Especially because it hurts like hell when Iroh pierces his earlobe with a needle and then slides the silver right in. 

“Like I said,” Suki coos, clapping her hands together “very handsome!” 

She leans in to give his cheek a kiss and Sokka is so distracted by it that he’s taken by surprise when Toph jumps on his back, shrieking “Welcome to the family, Fresh Meat!! I always knew you’d stick around!” 

Sokka hugs her tight and lets himself be swept into a round of embraces and head noogies. He’s still not sure what he wants to do in the distant future or how his life will turn around, but right in this moment, there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. 

Very little changes after he officially joins the crew. The few people that were still wary of him lose their tension, but that’s all. He doesn’t have any particular talents, so he does a little bit of everything: runs little errands here and there; helps to raise buckets of seawater on deck to load the machine; does the dishes after dinner... He goes to bed exhausted and when his bedroll neighbor (Juli) throws her leg over him again like on the first night, he throws his arm over her face in retaliation and promptly falls asleep. 

It’s not until he’s doubling over the railing one nightfall — a few days after his enlistment — grinding his teeth with a bristled stick and Teo’s bitter salve, most of the crew doing the same, or attempting to brush their hair in a shared nighttime ritual, that he notices a large, kite-gull soar with a shriek directly for the crow’s nest. 

“Cap! Suki!” Ty Lee jumps down from ratline to rope, waving a scroll in her hand. “We have a problem!” 

Zuko takes the scroll from her and unrolls it, reading it with his lips set in a tight line. Suki looks over his shoulder and her face goes from curious to worried. “Oh damn, yeah, we gotta help-” 

“What is it?” Toph comes forward. “Why is Pabu here?” As if on cue the kite-gull flies down from the crow’s nest and attempts to land on her back, nevermind that he’s almost as big as her entire arm span. It shrieks and she shrieks back at it, waving her arms like a windmill. 

“Everybody!” Zuko shouts at large, marching towards the helm, compass in hand. “We set course to Yue Bay!” 

The next morning they’re briefed about the rescue mission. “Of course it had to be my sister!” Toph complains loudly, practically shredding a chunk of iron. But Sokka sees it for what it is - closed-off worry, and scarries out of her way, offering to bring the knives she’d finished working on to the kitchen. 

“Oh, landlubber!” Jet greets him.

“I know you know my name.” Soka sighs, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Yeah, but I wanna call you landlubber so I’m gonna.” The cook grins with that stupid wheat stuck between his teeth. Sokka rolls his eyes and huffs. 

“What do you want?”

“Jeez, so sensitive! You throw a dude overboard one time and he’s not a bro anymore?” Sokka chooses not to address that “You know I could easily poison you, right? Or burn your stupid ponytail off.”

“Why are you even a firebender? It's like handing a knife to a monkey.” 

Unexpectedly, Jet laughs at that, raising one of the knives that Sokka brought him as if to inspect it, but the smirk on his face tells him that maybe it was a bad idea to antagonize the guy with an arsenal in his element. Jet just waggles his weird eyebrows at him tho. 

“Not by choice, believe me. My family was from the first colonies. It’s been a pain in the ass more than a blessing. Fucking firefolk too… just the worst scum on earth, but here we are.”

“You are crazy.” Sokka just tells him like it is. Easier than reminding Jet he’s on a ship full of firefolk, since he’s probably well aware and just doesn’t give a hoot. 

“Thanks, I try.” Jet cackles “Now, be useful, pretty boy, and go to the dry room where we keep the grain and tell me how many sacks of beans do we still have left.” 

“It’s pretty boy now? Wow, I’m flattered.”

“Go count me those beans, ot it’s gonna be Princess Snowflake next.” 

“Are you trying to get on Toph’s thing with nicknames? Go find your own!” Sokka calls, but docks out of the kitchen before Jet can get really prickly. He lets his eyes adjust to the darkness and wishes he’d taken a lamp with him, but navigates the messy cargo deck with minimal stumbling and injury. He calls out for Chit Sang, who’s often down here, but nobody answers. However there’s a sliver of light coming from beneath what is, if he remembers correctly, the dry room. Maybe Chit Sang is in there? He opens the door without thinking, just squinting against the light of the lamp and stills in his tracks when his eyes focus on-

A rogue boob. 

And actually a lot of naked skin and two pairs of pissed off eyes turning on him. Well, one pair of pissed off eyes, the other are amused as usual. But still, the sight of Naked Ty Lee, sitting sideways on top of an equally naked Mai, both using the grain sacks like bedding, and very evidently _not_ doing inventory, fries his brain. 

“Uuuum—-” Sokka tries. 

“Do you need anything?” Ty Lee chips, as if nothing, at the same time that Mai grumbles “get out.” 

“Uum-” Sokka tries again, putting all of his effort into not looking down, but it’s hard. “Jet sent me-” 

“Of course, Jet sent you.” Mai groans, throwing her head back to rest against the sacks, inadvertently putting more of her naked body on display. 

“Tell Jet,” Ty Lee smiles “that if he comes down here again or sends anyone else in the next hour, I’ll tie a rope around his balls and dangle him by them from the crow’s nest, ‘kay?” 

“Okay.” Sokka nods. Already knowing that he won't be warning the asshole of his imminent dark fate. 

“Now get out of here!” 

“Yes, ma’am! Uh- have fun?” 

“OUT!” 

Sokka finally remembers the command for his leg muscles to work and flees the scene, closing the door behind him. 

_“Ma’am? Have fun? Seriously?”_ He whispers to himself, shaking the stupor off. 

His body carries him on autopilot to the quarter deck, where he reclines against the railing, overseeing the milling of the ship’s crew and the cloudy sky above. 

“Uh-huh.” Suki remarks from the helm. “What happened?”

“Nothing!” Sokka puts his hands up, not sure of how much he should tell. 

“Really? Because you’ve got that face you make.” 

“What face?”

“The _‘I’ve just seen unexpected boobies_ face.” 

Sokka sputters and his blush must break through his dark complexion because Suki laughs with gusto, head thrown back. 

“I don’t have a boobs face!” 

A passing Kira stops in her tracks, looking at him weirdly, before continuing on her way. Suki seems to find that even more amusing. 

“Am I right tho?”

Sokka gives in. “Yeah. I’ve seen more boobs since I’ve been on this ship than in the whole past decade of my life.” 

“Well, either you were not very popular with the ladies back home, which I find hard to believe, or you’ve been catching ‘em in pairs. And since I’ve just seen Kira over here so it couldn't have been her and Mayu, I’m guessing you just walked on Mai and Ty Lee?” 

Sokka looks at her absolutely stunned. She wiggles her eyebrows at him. “Either that or I missed a juicy piece of gossip.” 

“You know about-?”

“Sure.” She shrugs, turning her attention back to the front, helm handles firmly in hand. “I try to know everything that’s going on on my ship.” 

“And you…” Sokka thinks maybe it’s wiser to drop that conversation, but since when does his mouth take the wiser road? “You don’t mind?”

Suki shakes her head. “I mean, we try not to encourage casual hook-ups. We live in very tight quarters and break-ups can be messy. But to veto all relationships altogether would be tyrannical and hypocritical. Also, Zuko and I don’t really want to lead by example, you know? So we trust our crew to know what they’re doing. It’s not like it’s fuck city in here either. Apart from the two of us it’s only the four that I already mentioned. Also, Mai and Ty Lee got a history longer than anyone else here.” 

“No that’s not what I meant.” Sokka really, really, should drop it. But Suki’s earnest and welcoming face has a way to make him talk. “They are both… girls.” 

“Is that a problem for you?” Her demeanor stays calm and collected but Sokka could swear her voice takes on an undertone so icy it reminds him of mornings back home. And fuck that came out wrong and he knows Suki is like a momma turtleduck that visciously looks after each and every one of her chicks, the last thing he needs is to be misinterpreted like that or to be suspiscious of assholery in her eyes. 

“No no no!” He waves his hands to placate her. “Not at all, in fact I’m- I only meant that I’m not used to it being so… openly spoken of. Back home, the North and their new laws- we just don’t talk about these things, it’s dangerous, gotta hide and all...” 

“Oh,” Her shoulders relax, even though Sokka hadn’t noticed her raising them in the first place. “I’m sorry to hear that. But yes, I know how it is in a lot of places nowadays.”

Sokka breathes out in relief. “Just one of the many things that suck with them.” 

“Hm~ So, you are?” 

“What?” 

“You said _‘in fact I am’_ what was it gonna be?”

Sokka blushes. He considers lying or changing the topic, just because it’s what he’s used to doing, because that’s what is _safe_. But he also knows that here, on the ship, he doesn’t have to, and he doesn’t want to perpetrate the circle of paranoia that growing up under the North has stitched into him. He wants to be honest, wants to know how it feels to say it out loud.

“This may sound weird,” he starts “but I don’t really have a preference, for either guys or gals.”

Suki grins at him “It doesn’t sound weird at all. A lot of people are like that. In fact, my Zuko too. Although…” she seems to consider it “he kinda _does_ have a slight preference. We own more phallic-shaped toys than any normal couple should.” 

Sokka almost chokes on his own tongue. Pulse beating a drum in his ears and wow, okay, the images in his head are not what he needs right now. It doesn’t help that he’s seen them both naked and being a smart guy comes with an over-active imagination. 

“Sh- should you be telling me that?” He practically squeaks and why is it suddenly so hot out here? 

Suki is laughing, leaning sideways on the helm and maybe she should be paying more attention to her job, but Sokka won’t be the one to tell her that. “So, anyone special to your heart right now or back at home? Any crushes?” 

That question doesn’t really help Sokka’s nervousness any, and he considers making a run for it across the deck, but instead just makes a compromising noise and shakes his head like a whole lot of dumbass. 

Suki fake-sighs. “So you’re not the kind of guy to fall in love the moment he sees a pair of breasts. Interesting take.” 

“You really are overplaying my alleged obsession with boobs.” He manages to reign his voice in by pure virtue of confusion at that wild statement. “That is, I don’t have any. It’s just that they keep appearing when I least expect them.” 

“Ah, so you’re more of a booty man? Us too.” 

Sokka opens his mouth, closes it, then decides to go with the second part of that sentence. “Because you’re pirates?” 

Suki snorts “Booty, pirates, smart! Nah, a nice ass is just a nice ass.” 

Sokka shrugs. “I can get behind that.” 

And he realizes what he’s said when he hears the leer in her voice “You can get _behind_ that?” 

“The sentiment!” Sokka protests, and he doesn’t even know why, but she’s losing her marbles cackling now, and despite himself he’s glad he could make her so amused, picking up on her contagious laugh. Some people on the deck below stop working, turning their heads over to them, but she waves them away. 

  
  


The next morning it’s not the sun that wakes them up but the violent rocking of the ship, the roar of thunder and the alarm bells. 

The sky is pouring all of its reserves of water on top of the Blue Spirit and the winds howl around creating dangerously high waves. 

“Collect the sails!!” Zuko yells over the storm “I want everything that’s not bolted down secured! Get ready, one big incoming!” 

Sokka barely has time to clutch onto the railing when a giant wave crashes over, bathing them all in gelid water and the ship creaks ominously, the aftershocks rocking the docks. Sputtering he catches a piece of rope that somebody tossed him and hurries to coil it around the longboat, tying it down before it can roll over. The rest of the crew is running around, shouting left and right for assistance, warnings or a simple “Aye, aye captain!!” here and there. 

“I’m too young and beautiful to die!” Sokka complains, when a rope snaps close to him, almost flogging him in the face. 

“I’m not, but still don’ wanna!” Jeong-jeong yells, dodging it too. 

Another wave sends half a dozen people rolling off their feet and Sokka catches a glimpse of Zuko and Suki both fighting with the helm, before Chit sang literally falls on top of him. They get up and wordlessly run after a rolling barrel, catching it before it could break against the foredeck. The rain is so heavy and dense, the skies so dark that the lightning barely helps at all. 

“Cap!” Aang shouts from the main top yard, skittering down. “I think-” 

“Got it!!” Zuko yells and sprints towards the ratline, climbing up like a monkey despite violent winds and pouring rain. 

He barely manages to make it to the crow’s nest before the sky lights up with a blast of light stronger than anything that night, and a lightning bolt strikes their mainmast. For a moment Sokka’s heart stops, because- because Zuko’s right there! But instead of slashing down the pennant pole the bolt seems to slow down and coils around the crow’s nest, around Zuko. A moment, a blink of an eye, and Zuko raises his hand, shooting lightning back towards the sky from his own fingers. 

The world speeds up again and Sokka breathes out, and he would have stood there, transfixed, for days, but the storm is still raging, and Suki is yelling for help at the helm because another giant wave is coming. Sokka and Mayu make it to her in time to lay on the handles and Sokka grits his teeth, feeling the wheel fight him with titanic force, the wood creaking under their combined effort to keep it stable. 

It seems like days have passed, or maybe a few minutes, but in fact it’s close to hours when they can finally relax. The storm has died down to a stable but moderate rainfall and the seas have stabilized. Everybody is accounted for and nothing seems to have been irreparably broken, but they cannot rest yet. Zuko has changed the course and Sokka joined the rest in pouring buckets of water overboard, having discarded his shirt and pants because they only feel cold and make the movements more difficult. And what a picture the entire crew working in their underwear and swearing loudly makes! Except for Toph. 

“Are you… lathering yourself?” Sokka stops to look at her, bubbled hair and all, soap bar under one armpit. 

“Hey, girl gotta do what she’s gotta do.” 

He can’t argue with that, just rescues another fish violently thrashing through the docks and goes to drop it into Jet’s basket. 

It's a few hours later and the rain is still drizzling but the winds have stilled and the sea is mostly calm, when a dark outline starts growing close. 

“We are docking for the night.” Iroh informs them, “It’s an uninhabited island, but we will be able to get some wood for repairs, if we need it.” He turns to Haru, who shakes his head. 

“I can’t tell you anything now, not until we stop and this rain dies down.” 

“Let’s make sure we aren’t carried off during the night.” Zuko picks up “Unfurl the main sail. Ty Lee, Aang!” 

“Aye, cap!” They comply in one voice and as soon as the sail is down fill it with air, propelling the ship towards the coast. Sokka grabs the nearest bulky object — which turns out to be The Boulder who, luckily, has grabbed onto a mast — and grits his teeth through the rough docking as the ship slides over the beach, burying it’s bow stem in the sand. 

Once in the relative security of the island, more crew members break out the soap and join Toph in the impromptu rain shower. Sokka figures he might as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any and all mistakes can be blamed on me feeling like crap today


	6. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hold onto your socks, guys! I'm about to steal them and kiss your mama!

“Alright, two sets of good and bad news.” Suki says later, as they all pile huddled together under deck, Chit Sang and Jeong-jeong warming up the room with their fire until it’s all cozy and toasty under there and the perpetual sour mocks and grunts are replaced with pleasant sighs and banter. Sokka sits huddled together with Nisa and Sei, who broke her leg in the mayhem of the storm and is now spotting a brand new cast of cloth and coiled iron, courtesy of Toph under Teo’s supervision. The metalbender herself is laying boneless between Sokka’s legs, her head on his stomach, as he tries to untangle the mess in her hair, close to her left ear. 

“Lay it on us.” Aang tells Suki, not taking a pause from moving his hands, his ability circulating the warm and dry air from the fires around the room. 

“Well, on the good side, we didn’t suffer any major damages, but we’ll need a day’s delay to repair the small ones.” 

“What?!” Toph sits up sharply, almost headbutting Sokka’s jaw. “But my stupid sister-”

“I know, I’m sorry Toph, but we’re still in time. I’ll send Pabu back to inform the rescue group that we’ll be late, but it shouldn't make a difference for one day. You’ll have to work extra tomorrow, alongside Haru, to bring us to full capacity.” 

“Yeah, sure.” She grumbles, her fingers beating a nervous tempo on the wood next to Sokka’s leg. She doesn’t lay back down though. 

“On another topic” Suki continues “Seawater and grime got everywhere this time. And I mean _everywhere_. Including the dry room. So many of our supplies are ruined and whoever is not doing repairs tomorrow should focus on washing and drying beans and rice, see what we can salvage.”

“And the good news to that is?” Jeong-jeong says dishearteningly, surely already picturing himself as a bean drier through the entire next day. 

“Well, we got plenty of fish fall onto our lap and this island has coconut trees galore, so Jet is working on his coconut-fish stew and we’ll have it in abundance for tomorrow too. Free bar, everyone.”

“That sounds horrible,” Sokka whispers to Nisa. 

“It’s actually pretty good, don’t get fooled by the sound of it.” She answers with a shrug. 

The stew turns out to actually be pretty good, despite Sokka’s initial worries. Creamy, spicy, filling and warm. Although that might have been the cup of hot liquor with spices talking. Everybody gets one, even the younger members of the crew, as Teo swears by it to prevent colds. 

Sokka’s still slumped against Sei, laughing at Aang’s tipsy shenanigans — trying to climb Chit Sang like a tree to touch his flame, which would be worrying if he didn’t look like a baby duckling flapping its limbs around — when Suki comes up behind their group, her warm hand reaching out to touch his neck, making a shiver run down his spine. 

“Sokka, come with me” she whispers, and Sokka extricates himself, careful not to jostle the sleeping Toph too much, turning her onto Sei’s lap, who gives him a knowing smirk that he tries not to read too much into. 

Suki takes his hand and leads him around the room, towards the door of the captain’s cabin. 

It’s dry and hot inside, even more so than in the common quarters. A heat that must be coming from Zuko, who looks up from his maps when they come in, the tip of his pen still in his mouth. 

“We just wanted to make sure that you were doing fine, adjusting to life on-board, and especially after your first storm.” She encourages Sokka to sit by the table with a hand on his shoulder and he obligues, following with his eyes as she goes to take her own seat just like the first time he’s been in this room, when they talked about his exchange to the North. 

Zuko sets aside his pen and picks up a teapot, heating it up with his hands as Suki produces a cup for each of them. Sokka isn’t feeling particularly for tea but when Zuko gingerly pours the liquid into his cup the aroma hits him like a tidal wave. It smells like the spices in the liquor they had before, but sweeter. 

“Are you planning to get me drunk every time we are on our own from now on?” But the sweet wine tastes amazing, and warms his insides even more, sending a pleasant tingle through his limbs and up into his head. He relaxes with his elbows on the table, watching in amusement Zuko down two cups in a row. 

“I can’t afford to get sick.” he explains. Yeah, nice excuse. He looks cute though, with that little blush rising on his cheeks. Sokka laughs, even if there’s nothing funny to laugh at. 

“But seriously, are you alright?” Suki asks, taking way more measured sips of her own wine. 

“Yeah.” Sokka shrugs. “A little water from the sky and a couple thunderbolts won’t scare me off. After the snowstorms at home I can take some roughing up, you know?. ” 

“Nice.” Zuko smirks, exchanging a weirdly complicit look with Suki. “Well, we should have decent weather on our way to Yue bay now.”

“Isn’t Yue bay one of the most cemented Northern strongholds?” Sokka voices what has been bothering him for a while. 

“Yeah, but it’s just a reference. We’re headed south, to a smaller fort, where they’re keeping our friends. Idiots were caught on a date making out under their own Wanted posters. We need to provide a distraction for their group to infiltrate the fort and rescue them. Preferably before they’re actually moved to Cranefish City for trial.” 

Sokka nods. “So I’m finally gonna meet the White Lotus?” 

Zuko and Suki exchange another look, a more charged one this time. 

“The White Lotus is a very widespread organization.” She turns to him “Its focus is on providing protection and structure, in case shit goes down, and it’s mostly underground. There’re many factions, groups and beliefs within. You’ll meet our sister team, one of the most hands-on and forward groups, all-around fighters. And their leader… well, she’s one of the most powerful benders in the world right now, but she’s had a really hard life. When you see her, just remember that we’re all working towards the same goal, ultimately, alright?” 

Mark Sokka down as confused. “Alright?” He promises, not sure why that came up, he’s curious but by Zuko and Suki’s body language knows he won’t get out any more than that. He isn’t sure when he’s gotten so good at reading the couple but he doesn’t want his time alone with them to end. He frantically scrambles for a change of subject, to break the awkward tension, and his gaze falls on the maps, recognizing the outline and the name scribbled on it. 

“Didn’t they rename Cranefish City as Yue City too?” It’s stupid but he says it before he can think of anything better. Suki looks up confused, then follows his eyes to the map as well. 

“Oh, sure. It just didn’t take. Everybody calls it Yue Bay because it didn’t have a name before but the city was Cranefish for centuries and it’s still Cranefish to everyone, including its newest citizens. It’s ugly but I guess people are just not picky and prefer what they are familiar with.” 

“Which is good.” Zuko says, taking a nice gulp of this third cup of wine. “She would have hated it.” 

“Who?” Sokka turns to him, confused. 

“Yue.” 

“Princess Yue? The Northern King’s late daughter, why?” 

Zuko shrugs, his expression going pensive, even as his usually sharp eyes lose focus. “She hated all of this pomp.” He looks up at the ceiling, frowning “For a princess raised in the ways of the North she was really humble and somehow saw the Alliance for what it is, actively spoke against military campaigns and oppression up to the day her illness took her. She was the first to make me question everything, even as a kid.”

“Wait!” Sokka almost jumps up from his seat. “You _met_ her?” 

Zuko looks at him like he’s dumb “Well, yeah. Our fathers got together often to discuss politics and business, and they brought us along.” His next words come out slightly sluggish, “There were even plans for a betrothal... for a while.” 

“But her father was the _King of the North._ ”

“So?” Zuko tilts his head, like he’s not comprehending Sokka’s confusion “My father is Fire Lord Ozai.” 

> _Excuse me but what fucking now?_

Sokka stares at him, eyes comically wide. Maybe he’s misheard? Or just- “Uh, I think you should stop drinking.” 

Suki storts, covering her mouth with her own cup. “He _is_ getting drunk, but also for real. Are you telling me two weeks on this ship and nobody told you yet? We discourage the guys from talking about it openly, especially to prisoners, but not even after you joined? Wow, they're becoming obedient.”

Sokka looks at her instead like she’s grown a second head. The memory of an interrupted conversation in the infirmary from days ago, when Toph told him Zuko was royalty and he took it as a prank, resurfacing. It’s probably still a prank. 

“You’re pulling my leg.” He insists, and chooses to believe that Zuko’s drunk laughter is because of that. But the captain just downs the rest of his cup and shifts closer, throwing his arm over Sukka’s shoulders, pulling him into his side. 

“I wish, watertribe, I wish. Nah, if you want proof that my father is one of the worst jerks on the entire planet look no further than my face.” He points at his own left eye. “How many people do you think are sadistic enough to pull that off? Fire Lord must be hiii~gh up there on the trash-human list.” 

“Your _dad_ did that to you?” Sokka gapes in horror, suddenly that arm over his shoulders feeling way too heavy and burning hot, whereas otherwise he would have enjoyed the contact. 

And suddenly he remembers. He remembers the news, and the whispers, from many years ago, when he was still too young to care about them. Of how the heirloom to the Fire Nation changed from the Fire Lord’s son to his daughter overnight. And how the boy was either dead or cast out, or even the sensationalist gossip that the Fire Lord disfigured his own child beyond recognition for outlandish reasons that changed according to who told the story. One of those rumors that nobody believed but used as an example of how horrible the Fire Nation and the Alliance were. 

Was it all true? It couldn’t be true, right? Neither what Zuko claimed to be. Sokka shakes his head, slumping back against the bed, with Zuko’s arm still slung like a dead weight over his shoulders, only now realizing that the other man is still talking, the liquor slugging his words. And Sokka is slightly tipsy too, but sobering up by the second. 

“Yeah. I used to be ashamed at first but… uh fuck it, fuck that. At least now I don't have to see his face when I look in the mirror. My family's mostly psychi- uh... psych _otic_ sociopaths, except my uncle. We fucked up the world and see? The moment I accidentally not act as much of an asshole as I could have, suddenly dad is ready to kill me. _FuCK. IT._ Who the fuck takes a torch to a kid’s face. That’s not the way of Agni, no-oh. And- oh hey love-” 

He grins as Suki wiggles herself under his other arm. “Kyoshi island just took me in, you know… that’s how I know dad is wrong and an _aa_ asshole. Uncle told me when he rescued me, and Kyoshi Island didn’t kill their children, and everybody told me how bad that was and how I was right, and showed me uh— what was it, love, what y'all showed me?” 

“I don’t know,” Suki chuckles “but I think you need to lay down. Sokka, help me.” She stands up, with Sokka’s help hauling Zuko on the bed, but he yanks and pulls the both of them in, making a sound curiously similar to a giggle. Sokka finds himself sprawled on the bedding, snuggled by Zuko, body way too close and with his face half a foot away from Suki’s, who looks genuinely amused. 

“Hot wine affects him way too much” She stage-whispers “It’s his trigger liquor.” 

“But is he for real the-?” Sokka still cannot believe it. 

“The prince of the Fire Nation?” Suki rubs her cheek affectionately against Zuko’s chest. “Technically, yeah, although he’s been banished.” 

“Banished my ass...” Zuko mumbles, his voice barely audible, even though Sokka is literally plastered to him. And he tries not to think about how the other man is warm and firm under his body, but also pliant and so, so close. He attempts to focus on what he just learned instead, his eyes asking a bunch of questions even as his mouth opens and closes, for once too stunned to run by itself. 

Suki scrambles up a bit, propping herself on her elbow, loving fingers cradling through Zuko’s hair, and when Sokka incorporates too he realizes Zuko’s eyes are closed, breath coming out even and arm going slack, sliding down from Sokka’s shoulders to rest against his back. 

“I know what you must be thinking.” Suki says quietly, casting Sokka a look with just the right amount of warning in it. “But he’s one of the most genuinely _good_ people you’ll ever meet. And if anything, the sins of his forefathers only push him to work harder to atone for them. One day, if everything goes right, he’ll take his crown and turn the Fire Nation from our enemy into our ally, ours, not of the North. But for now we do all that we can to help, and he is a source of hope for many. Don’t judge him for his blood.” 

Sokka looks down at the sleeping young man. His emotions are a mess and so are his thoughts, the alcohol not helping matters. But he can’t find in himself any traces of hostility or even disappointment. They all have the same goal and Zuko’s been hurt, just like everyone else, Fire Nation or not. His fingers twitch and he has to still himself against the impulse to touch Zuko’s face, if only because his girlfriend is here. But something must have shown in his eyes because she relaxes, her free hand coming up to gently squeeze Sokka’s elbow and staying there. 

“Can I judge him for being a lightweight instead?” He asks and Suki laughs quietly. Her fingernails trace a line over Sokka’s forearm, making him shiver, until her hand settles around his bicep. 

“Stay with us.” She whispers, an echo of that night under the stars, when they offered him a place in their family. But she means something different now. If only Sokka could figure out what. 

“I’m not going anywhere.” he gives her the same answer, all the exhaustion of the day, physical and emotional, catching up to him. Her feline eyes glimmer like warm sunset waters in the low light of the lamps and, for Sokka, it’s the single most beautiful sight to fall asleep to, letting Zuko’s warmth and steady breathing lull him into unconsciousness. 

  
  


It’s a lot to take in for one night, but most of what Sokka remembers is warmth, and waking up to the scent of campfire smoke. Through the next day, working on the repairs and assembling the trebuchet for the attack, he keeps turning the revelations and the soft touches in his head. Still trying to come to terms with the information but smiling involuntarily, a weird fluttering in his chest. 

He tries not to lean onto Suki as she’s explaining the plan when they near their destination, an Alliance fort on the coast, by the side of a river, rising dark and imposing. He has to force himself to stop staring into Zuko’s golden eyes and pay attention to what he’s saying, when he warns them that something seems wrong and that half of them should disembark and help from land, while the other half provides a distraction, shooting bombs and flaming projectiles from the sea. 

So Sokka doesn’t really think it through before following into the longboat and pays for his distraction by suddenly being thrown into the fray when their ambush is discovered. Under the threat of beheading he finally banishes anything but the fight from his head, a boy without any formal training, but hellbent on fury and determination to prove himself. 

He has the Boulder and Toph on his left — making do with the pavement, fists and metal — Zuko and Jet dancing through fire and swords to his right, and a few other members of the crew helping, just like him, with whatever they can. Way sooner that he’d have liked, Sokka is out of boomerangs, and resorting to his fists and dodging swords under the assistance of pure survival instinct. They need to make time, whatever their allies are doing is taking way too long, so they have to drive attention to themselves, running from one side of the fort to another, until they see a ray of coiled fire shoot from one of the towers, signalling the retreat.

Through it all he doesn’t remember, not even once, the part of the post-storm conversation that he really should have focused on, until it’s too late. They literally crash into another group of people that are definitely not soldiers, and the mayhem intensifies, practically blowing up half of the building after Toph snaps the heavy metal restraints off one guy’s hands. And then they are running, and Sokka, doesn’t question his orders, doesn’t think about who’s leading the escape, jumping over boulders and fallen trunks. His arm is bleeding, his thigh might be burnt, sweat in his eyes and he barely sees anything at all, he doesn’t think, doesn’t remember the words that left Suki’s lips two days ago. 

> _“She’s one of the most powerful benders in the world right now, but she’s had a really hard life. When you see her, just remember that we’re all working towards the same goal-”_

He barely registers the river turning to ice under their feet as they run, a dozen and a half people persecuted by a platoon of soldiers breathing down their necks, it’s the adrenaline, the feral need of the prey animal to escape. 

So he doesn’t understand why they stop, why the other group cheers, but then their leader brings up her arms… and the ice bridge explodes. 

Thousands of broken shards in a tower of water taller than the forest’s trees rising to the sky, the gaiser draining the delta and collapsing onto itself, drowning their immediate persecutors in an avalanche of frozen spikes and washing over in a display of raw power like Sokka has never seen before. It lingers in the air, in the taste of the cold wind the likes of which remind him of the clash of icebergs during polar storms. 

The woman lowers her arms and the river evens out, as if the cataclysm never happened, recreating a barrier between their group and the enemies on the other shore, too wide for a crossbow shot. Everyone exhales in relief. They collapse on the grass, greeting their friends and making sure their injuries aren’t too bad. There are hugs and smiles all around. 

But Sokka’s breath doesn’t go back to normal. 

He knows he should check on his injuries but they are a distant echo to him. With rising horror and disbelief he stares, transfixed, at that woman. Even in her earthly rags she stands like a general, barely in her mid-twenties but with the stance of a veteran, tall, powerfully built, dark skin and dark hair. Eyes piercing blue like the depths of the glaciers. 

“Can’t be…” Sokka mumbles, hoarse and lost, drawing attention to himself “You… _you are dead_. You are supposed to be dead. Fourteen years ago- the fleet sank. You-” 

Because he stares at her and all that he can see is the tiniest details of her face, the kind that nobody else would notice; the upside-down shape of her under-nose groove, the almost straight line of her eyebrows, the angle of her eyes, so painfully familiar it makes his heart ache, bringing to the foremind the memories of his own mother, his aunts and his little sister. And another memory emerges, rescued more from a charcoal portrait, buried deep under layers of furs in an old chest, than from the dream-like fogs of the deep past. 

But it can’t be, it shouldn't be possible, right? She couldn't be alive, and here, just a step away. After so many years, after everything she did, the pain and shame she brought on… 

“Hello, Sokka,” She turns to him, voice gravel and tongue curling around the syllables not of the common tongue but that of a forbidden dialect, only kept alive in illicit reunions and under the most strict veil of intimacy in the gelid southern nights “The last time I saw you, you were barely a toddler.” 

And he feels sick to his stomach- 

“Korra.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *vibrating* 
> 
> Btw, keep your eyes open and/or subscribe to the series, because you've got a special treat coming up between tomorrow and Wednesday ;)


	7. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please read the beginning notes!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ### TWO VERY IMPORTANT THINGS
> 
>  **1\. The first extra story in this verse is out. Make sure to check it out** ♥  
> You can either find it in the series (which I recommend subscribing to) or click here: [The curse of Agni](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26845054)
> 
>  **2\. Back in chapter 3, Sokka told the crew a story about the Southern waterbenders.** I guess it's easy to forget with two weeks apart because it was a very tiny detail, so I'm pasting it below. It's extremely important in order to understand this chapter:
>
>> _"One of the most powerful and rebellious children, a ten year old girl, went berserk **— she was a second cousin of mine, too. —** Anyway, she found out her parents had been executed for suspected ties to the rebellion. The girl blew up the complex she was held in, completely annihilated the Northern facilities, buried them in the snow, and took down dozens of soldiers before she was subdued. But there were casualties of our own as well, two dead and eight severely wounded._
>> 
>> _She was shipped away in chains to the North, they wouldn't get rid of a weapon that powerful right away, I guess. We never found out what happened to her, but rumor says the ship never reached the North, it sank along the way with everyone on board. Ever since then, learning waterbending has been outlawed. Those who are found out to be Blessed are either heavily guarded or taken away, never to be seen again.”_  
>  _“I know that story!” Toph speaks up. “Isn’t that-?”_  
>  _Zuko stomps his foot down, interrupting her. “Toph, silence.”_  
> 

> * * *

“For what it’s worth, I’m really sorry.” 

“For what exactly?” Sokka snaps, eyes fixed on his own foot digging in the sand “For killing your own people? For letting your family believe you were dead? Or for sabotaging every waterbender in the South ever since?”

Korra physically recoils. She has a naturally imposing physique but now it looks diminished and squamish. “I- the accident. I’m sorry for what happened. I lost control and believe me, not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about it and regretted every second. Everything I do, every life I save, every person I help, I do it to atone for that mistake.” 

Sokka inspires deeply around the lump in his throat and his lungs feel like they are made of paper. Fragile. He knows he shouldn’t be bringing it up, he knows it wasn’t actually her fault, but… it’s hard, to be the better person, to let his anger die without seeing the light. 

“But they are not _our_ people.” He says without thinking. And he knows how bad that sounds. The rest of both of their groups are barely out of earshot, huddled together around a bonfire, sharing stories and embraces. Toph with her sister’s head on her lap, their aunt fussing over them; a young firebender that keeps addressing Zuko as “Your Majesty” and bowing respectfully (and Sokka didn’t know it was possible to cringe with your entire body until Zuko did it, reminding Mako tiredly to please stop doing that); Jeong-jeong tearfully retelling one Asami gal every detail of what happened to the water machine despite her having already promised to take a look at it; Suki gesturing enthusiastically through a story; and everyone else, who are not Southerners, not their people, but beloved and worthy and great nonetheless. They’re giving them privacy, from time to time some flicking their eyes in the direction of the two estranged cousins. They don’t deserve Sokka implying that they, and anyone like them, are in any way less. But he cannot find it in himself to take it back. 

Thankfully, she says nothing. 

“Why didn’t you reach out?” He asks after several minutes of silence. Why not let us know that you were alive? 

“I didn’t think you’d want me.” She sighs “And well… I didn’t know whom to trust either. Somebody out there betrayed my parents.”

“It couldn’t have been any one of us!”

“We have a big family,” she turns to look at him, just for a moment, before averting her eyes “a bad apple is harder to spot in a full basket.” 

“Well I don’t care.” Sokka snaps. “Family is family. I’m not going to be like you, I don’t want to drop out completely.” But even as he says it, a tiny voice in his head reminds him that _someone_ back in the day also outed Katara as a bender. 

“I know. Suki wrote to us with your request. I asked for our contact in the South to drop a word to your dad.” 

“You did?” Sokka looks at her, surprised. “That’s… thank you.” 

“It’s nothing.” Her shoulders relax just a fraction. “The least I can do. We’re expecting to hear from him soon.” 

Sokka feels grateful, he really does. There’s a chasm between them, an irreparable crack in a relationship that never existed in the first place. But sitting by her side, speaking their language, is probably the closest he’ll ever be to home, even if she’s very rusty and he feels at the verge of tears. 

“For what it’s worth” he parrots her words back at her “I’m glad that you’re not dead.” 

This time, she holds his eyes for longer, a ghost of a crooked smile on her lips. “And I’m glad that you’re with us now. Suki and Zuko treating you right? We try to keep regular correspondence but the last thing I got wind of, before Opal and Bolin got themselves captured, is that they decided not to sell you to the North.” 

“Yeah.” Sokka chuckles, flicking his silver earring. “I guess I’m a pirate now. Which is turning out to be more political than expected.” 

“Well, traditionally all pirates had an agenda, even if that was to be as much of a nuisance to the controlling powers as possible. A free life is only good if you have something to live for. The Blue Spirit is not the only pirate ship that the White Lotus has contact with, but it’s the one we’re closest to, and that not only does the most damage, but gets better results.” 

Sokka nods. “Suki always tells us our first priority in any raid is information.” 

“True. That’s how wars are won.” 

Sokka snorts. “The wars that supposedly ended twenty years ago?”

Korra leans back, her arms crossed behind her head. “It didn’t end for us, it didn’t end for anyone really. Just slowed down and gave us another enemy. One that’s even worse.”

Sokka nods. “Dad always says that at least the Fire Nation was upfront about their intentions. And from what the firefolk guys onboard have been telling me, it’s not doing so hotly, nowadays.”

Korra nods, eyebrows coming together in that weirdly familiar way that makes Sokka want to pat her head because of how much it reminds him of his sister. “It’s true. And to be honest, the problem is not the Fire Nation anymore. They are extremely absolutist and we have their legitimate heir to the throne with us. We could take out the royal family, I know we could. And almost nobody would oppose Zuko becoming the new Fire Lord. But what then? If he breaks the Alliance and frees the Earth lands, the 80-year-war will recommence, but this time the North might win easily. Nobody wants that. No, we need to destabilize the North first, make sure they’re in no condition to start another war.”

“And in the meanwhile what? Just poke them with a stick? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for spite, but-” 

“In the meanwhile we look for opportunities. We help our people, we resist, and we wait for them to make a mistake. One day we’ll find a way. It could take decades, but we’ll come by something really valuable, something that might give us a chance.” 

“Sounds like you’re living off hope.” 

“It’s better than living off fear.” 

She sounds utterly certain. And Sokka is reminded yet again that she was born in a time of war, but grew up in an era of fear. If anything, her faith in _hope_ is either a miracle or an admirable feat of character. 

He swallows tight, eager to end the dead silence that’s descended upon them. “I’m surprised you’re letting the guy that’s the key to ending this just... sail around, tempting death all the time.” 

“Yeah, well, not everybody in the White Lotus is on board with that ‘Fire Lord Zuko plan’, and who knows if or when we’ll get the chance to put him on the throne. Besides, try telling him that you want him to sit quiet and do nothing after what happened to his beloved Kyoshi Island. That’s like kissing your eyebrows goodbye, he’ll fry them off.” 

Sokka snorts, because that’s probably true. Say what you will about Zuko, but he never sends the crew into battle unless he’s on the forefront. 

“How did you meet?” 

Korra hums, pulling a tendril of water from the sea and twirling it around her finger. It makes Sokka weirdly aware that he’s been fidgeting by tapping his own foot on the sand. 

“It’s a long story. But basically, after the two ships full of refugees from Kyoshi Island arrived, my group was asked to protect them until they were relocated or decided to fight. I was supposed to be Zuko’s bodyguard, of sorts. Until Suki and him proved very quickly that they didn’t need protection. When they assembled their crew, which was barely half or what it is now, they asked me to come along. I cannot be at sea, though, so it didn’t work out, but we remained friends and they got to keep Toph, much to Suyin’s chagrin, as you can imagine.” 

“Wait-” Sokka turns to stare at her “You can’t be at sea? Why? You are a waterbender! Seems like a perfect place for you. In fact, everyone keeps saying how we could use a waterbender.” 

He doesn’t expect Korra to flinch, her body going tense again. She sits up, letting the tendril she was playing with soak into the sand. He almost expects her to deflect the question, practically hearing the internal battle that her eyes and tightly strung lips betray, but finally she sighs, gaze lost somewhere on the dark horizon. 

“I guess I owe you that much. The high seas and I don’t have a good relationship. I suppose you heard how the fleet that was transporting me sunk?” 

“Yeah.” 

“ _I_ sunk it. But what I had to live through in the days after that…” she makes a face, hugging her knees up to her chest. “The open waters can be merciless. And at night… I cannot sleep at sea, now. No matter how much I try, I never feel safe and the… something _eats me from the inside_ every day I go without seeing land. I want to help, I really do, but this is the one thing that’s beyond me.” She laughs, humorlessly “I’m kind of a waste of a waterbender.” 

“That’s not true!” Sokka grabs her shoulder, turning her towards him “Look, I’m not Blessed or even a good fighter but fuck, I know you didn’t ask for that, and you went through a lot of crap, you’re allowed a hangup. You’re still crazy powerful. That thing with the river today… _wow!_ What you don’t do at sea, you do here. Somebody has to.” 

“Thanks.” She rubs her wrist over her wet eyelids. “It means the world coming from you, coz. Besides, my wife would shred me if I told her I’m fucking off to sea for however long.” 

“See?! It all comes together in the end!” Sokka agrees. And because he doesn’t think it much before acting, leans forwards and envelops her in a bear hug. She chuckles into his shoulder and shifts to hug back. It’s almost uncomfortable at first, because she’s ripped as all hell and way too tense, so she almost crushes his ribcage. But as she relaxes into the embrace Sokka smiles, letting himself accept that — even if things between them might take time to heal — by some miracle, on this tropical beach so far from home, he managed to get back one piece of his family. 

He’s still irrationally bitter in his core, and he needs to work through that by himself, there’re still so many questions he has to ask her, so much to tell and to catch up on. He’ll need time to process and to accept, to forgive and to stop blaming her for things that aren’t her fault. It also kinda hurts to look at her, this strong, commanding woman. Judge, jury and executioner, with a face so reminiscent of his sister and mother and aunts but a bodycount of hundreds on her conscience. It makes him nauseous, but not enough to push her away, or even let go.

They stay like this for however long, two people born of snow and ice, way too far away from home, but at least close to each other. Until someone finally comes looking for them. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt, dear,” Asami — the elegant beauty that Sokka’s found out earlier is none other that the famous ‘smart friend’ that the crew kept referring to during his first days on the ship — approaches with a steaming cup in her hands “but it’s time for your medicine.” 

Korra pulls back then, shifting to let Asami kneel next to her and accepts the cup with a smile. Her eyes are rimmed in red, but she looks more at ease now, even as she pulls a face after downing the contents. Asami rewards it with a kiss to Korra’s cheek. 

“Sokka,” Korra asks “did you already meet my better half?” 

“Not formally,” Sokka admits, smiling at them “but I met her sexy creation.” 

They quickly fall into gushing over technology, engineering, and Sokka officially nominates Asami as his new favorite extended-family member. Even as they come back into the circle of friends, where he also gets to meet Toph’s aunt and sister (the rescued one); Bolin, said sister’s boyfriend and the builder of the granite water tank (the other rescued one). Mako, Bolin’s firebender brother, and a few other new faces. Surrounded by a whole array of new friends, or at least begrudging allies, Sokka feels farm and content. It’s a good feeling, one that he’s determined to enjoy. Free of worry, of anxiety and insecurity. His old and new family is here, they are all safe, and there’s nowhere to be but right on this shore, right now. 

He should have known these moments never last for long. 

The message comes the next afternoon. 

The Blue Spirit crew are still with Korra and her group, repairing their ship, loading supplies, and just enjoying the terra ferma. Sokka himself is sitting with Korra, catching her up in full detail on the wedding of one of their cousins when the cry of a messenger eagle catches his attention. The bird soars over their heads and lands on Bolin’s forearm, on the other side of their camp, but Sokka turns his attention back to Korra, picking up on the disaster of the reception. 

Barely a minute later, Asami comes running with a scroll clutched to her chest. “Ginger came back. Honey, I think you need to read this immediately.” 

“Who?” Sokka frowns. 

“A message from our contact in the South, the man we asked to speak to your father.” Korra elaborates, taking the letter and scanning over it quickly. “What is Iknik- Oh, no!” 

“What?!” Sokka jumps up, "Is it something about my dad?!” He plucks the scroll from her hands and reads over it frantically. Their contact spoke to Hakoda, told him Sokka was alive - good - had a parlé about the Resistance, and… and…”

“No-” No, no no no no. _Shit, this can’t be. Because of him… because of his kidnapping and betrayal they… no._

“They are taking Katara.” 

The North is taking Katara. They are taking her away, as a replacement for Sokka. They are stripping his father of both of his children and Katara can’t- she doesn’t deserve this, she can’t just be ripped away from their family, cannot be… no, it was one thing when it was Sokka. He could bear being the one to endure such a fate. He cannot bear even the thought of Katara in their hands. _It’s too much._

He’d rather have her fight and bring the entire town down than see her in shackles or trapped in the North. 

Sokka cannot breathe. The paper crumpling in his shaking fingers, his knees give up and the panic crawls up his throat, closing it up. This cannot be happening. This cannot be allowed to happen to Katara… his stubborn, bossy, loving, little sister. If they take her they’ll break her, they- they can’t—- Sokka is mildly aware of his body seizing up, of voices getting louder. It’s not helping, it’s not helping and he doesn’t know what to do. It’s his fault, it’s all _his fault!_ A laugh cuts through his senses and hurts his ears - a maddening, panicked, wet, ugly sound - and it’s coming from him. Strong arms are supporting his shoulders now but that person smells like ancient ice and blood, and he can’t bear it, thrusting his hands out to shake them off, eyes closed shut, Katara’s face the day they said goodbye the only thing behind his eyelids. 

“Everybody back off!” A deep voice booms above the rest and the smell of ice is replaced by campfire smoke. Strong but gentle, spicy and warm. A pair of hands cup his cheeks, steady and hot, almost too much. The physical input coursing through his nervous system like a rope ladder offering an anchor to reality. 

When Sokka comes back to himself he’s inside one of the tents, and he doesn’t remember getting there but Zuko must have helped him to his feet at some point, guiding him to a dim, secluded location. And he’s still there, lending his chest for Sokka to hide his face in, one hand gently carding through the short hairs on his nape. 

“You had a panic attack.” He explains when Sokka pulls away, looking at him in confusion. “And don’t you dare apologize. We’ve all been there.” 

Sokka closes the mouth he’d already opened to do just that. He’s still shaken, feeling weak and strangely empty.

“Can I come in?” Suki’s voice asks before her head pops in between the flops of the tent, without waiting for an answer. But it’s her, so Sokka nods. 

She is holding the mistreated letter in her hand and wordlessly hands it to Zuko, taking his place as Sokka’s comfort cuddler in exchange. Zuko’s face darkens as he reaches the last paragraph. 

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” He exclaims, startling Sokka, which he notices immediately, shoulders dropping. “I’m sorry and… _I’m sorry_.” 

Sokka shakes his head, leaning on Suki’s shoulder for support. He can’t look at the letter or he’s afraid he’ll throw up. His limbs still feel like he ran a race an hour ago, limp and tired, emotional exhaustion weighing like a blanket of rocks on his chest. 

“I don’t know what I’m more worried about,” He confesses “that they’ll take her and make her miserable, break her spirit… or that they will realize how powerful she is but _will not_ manage to break her. Katara would rather die than be used against her own people. She’s too much like our mother in that sense.” He’s so afraid for her. He wasn’t nearly as afraid for himself. He had resigned, accepted his fate and sailed on that ship, ready to sign his life off. 

And then he just _had_ to get kidnapped by pirates and get the better end of a deal that he didn’t even know had more than one possible outcome. At least he had friends now, a purpose, a new life of adventure and freedom at seas, and someone of his family back, even if he still wouldn’t be able to ever return home. He had prevailed, he even thought that he’d somehow gotten one over the North. Stupid! Now Katara was paying for it. 

“It’s because I’m here.” He mumbles into Suki’s shoulder “Because I abandoned my duty, now she has to take my place.”

“It’s not your fault.” Suki whispers against his temple, and well yeah, technically it’s _theirs_ , but Sokka doesn’t think that. He’s too busy blaming himself. 

“It should have been me. No, it should have been her, with you, while I went to the North. She’s so much more valuable than me. She would have done so much good, a waterbender at sea.” 

The idea strikes him like a lightning bolt. 

“Zuko.” He straightens up, not sure how he can even ask for something like that. If he even can… 

“Sokka-” The captain cuts him off, frowning, as if he’s read his mind. Or as if the same idea was taking leaps in his head as well. He leans away and Sokka feels himself tittering on the edge of hope and despair. He turns to Suki instead, who’s dropped her hands on her lap and is biting her lip, eyes downcast. 

“Iknik said they’ll be sending her off with a fleet. It would be too risky.” She says. 

“But think of the reward!” Sokka pleads “She’s really strong, I swear! You keep saying how you need a waterbender and a healer but can’t find one!” He doesn’t mention that Katara has no idea how to _control_ her power, but that has an easy solution. 

Zuko winces and runs a hand through his hair, messing it up. Sokka grabs it on the way down, holding his palm between his own hands, “Please-” he holds his gaze, trying to convey with his eyes, in the dim light of the tent, all of his faith. 

“We do need a waterbender…” Suki’s voice trails off, barely audible “and you are family now. We help our family, right?” And Sokka’s never felt so immensely grateful to have another human being in his life. 

Her and Zuko lock eyes and engage in one of their signature eyebrow conversations. Sokka keeps turning his head between the two, tense like a spring. Finally, Zuko sighs and leans back, pursing his lips. 

“Alright, but it’s a very big risk.” He says “I can’t just throw my crew into it. We’ll have to run it by them and vote on it.” 

“I’ll stay here with Sokka.” Suki supplies. “You know my vote.” 

Zuko smiles. He then squeezes Sokka’s shoulder and leans in to give Suki a quick peck on the lips before climbing out of the tent. Sokka hears him call in a meeting around the campfire and exhales a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. 

“Thank you.” He whispers, and lets himself be guided to lie his head on her lap, her calloused fingers combing through his hair and tracing patterns on his scalp. She smells like herbs and salt, and her thighs may not be soft but their warmth is calming and reassuring. Outside, Sokka can hear voices; Zuko’s explaining the situation, someone’s protests, whistling, Toph, yelling over the rest, Jet whining, Korra’s booming declaration that Katara is her family too. Sokka doesn’t know what he’ll do if the vote doesn’t pass and suddenly Zuko’s decision to leave him behind seems wise and merciful. He’s glad that he doesn’t have to be out there, looking them in the eyes, doesn’t have to see which of the people he eats with, sleeps with, and trusts to watch his back, will not raise their hands. 

Suki starts to hum. Some simple tunes that Sokka’s never heard before, but that sound like a lullaby. He wonders if it’s one of the precious little things she took with her from Kyoshi Island. Sokka doesn’t know what’s really going on outside, it’s hard to guess from in here, so he tries to tune out the world if only for a minute, focusing on Suki’s voice instead, and her hands in his hair, sending little tingles of relaxing pleasure down his spine, her smell, her warmth and her company. 

His chest feels tight. Whatever the result of the vote, there’s a part of him that’s just glad that at least her and Zuko are on his side. He’d be devastated if they’d turned their backs on him, but they didn’t. And that makes all the difference right now, that makes everything slightly better. 

Oh- 

_Oh._

Oh well. This really isn’t the time to deal with _that_ terrifying realization on top of everything else. He makes a mental note to come back to it later and shoves it deep down within the corners of his conscience. But it distracts him enough that he doesn’t realize when the voices outside go quiet and so does Suki, her fingers stilling in his hair. 

The crowd erupts in loud cheering and whistles. Sokka knows the voting ended and one side won, he only wishes he knew which one. 

“C'mon.” Suki ushers him up. “Let’s find out.” 

Everybody is staring when they approach and Sokka doesn’t know what to make of it, fidgeting on his feet. It’s hard to look people in the eyes and the light is still too bright after the dimness of the tent, but he does anyway. One figure stands out from the rest. Toph, on her feet, hands crossed over her chest. She cocks her head in his direction, her signature smirk playing enigmatically on her lips. 

“You are Fresh Meat and you fight like a baby with a full diaper,” she says and _gee, thanks_ “but you didn’t hesitate to lay your life on the line to help me get back my idiot sister-”

“Hey!” Opal protests peeking from behind her. 

“- so I’m gonna help you get back yours. We all will.” 

It takes Sokka all of three seconds to process her words until he’s wrapping himself around her in a bear-hug, choking on a sob. And fuck it, he should not be crying, he’s an adult and a strong proud man, but fuck that too, he wouldn’t stop himself from crying in relief even if he could. He squeezes Toph tight and catches Zuko’s eyes over her shoulder, through the distortion of his tears he thinks he can see him smile so he beams back. And it’s not only Toph hugging him, it’s Nisa too, and Haru and Ty Lee… and Sokka keeps chanting “thank you, thank you” until the pile dissolves and he’s faced with Korra, looking down at him with soft eyes, her hands on his shoulders. 

“I made many mistakes,” she says “and I know I cost the South and my family a lot, including what young waterbenders after me had to face. Nothing will ever change that, but if I can make one single thing better, I will. And Katara is my family too, which is why you can count us in too, my team and me.” 

Sokka looks at her perplexed and then at Asami, smiling warmly at her left and behind them Mako and Bolin, Opal and Kai, Lin and half a dozen of other guys and gals. He feels hope, and relief, as overwhelming as the gratitude warming his bones. 

“Thank you-” he tells them too, hand coming up to squeeze Korra’s, as they lean into each other, a silent promise and a shared understanding of duty, and family. 

“It won’t be easy.” Zuko warns them “We need Iknik to find out more details and keep us updated, the more information we have, the better.” 

“I’ll go write to him then.” Asami offers, stopping by to drop a kiss on the back of Korra’s neck before heading for her tent. 

“And I’m gonna send a message to the Freedom Fighters, see if they want to lend a hand.” Suki chips in. 

“They won’t, and for what it’s worth-” Jet grumbles, crossing his arms like a petulant child “I think all of this is a stupid idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW guys, I'm on a new diet, I can only get nutrition from kudos now. Pls don't let me die :'3


	8. Black flag

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks to @Space_feminist for pointing out a few typos in the last chapter. English is not my first language and this is not betaed, so if you catch anything wonky please tell me.

The thing about Sokka is that when there’s something to do and he’s absolutely focused on it, obsessively going over and over every detail, and itching to start, to learn, to plan, to spring into action… doing nothing feels like a torture, like an itch under his skin and a mental breakdown all at once. It’s even worse when the grand deed is the literal resque of his sister, a life or death situation that is probably going to be dangerous and crucial as all hell. Yet here he is, stuck without any pertinent information, waiting for another letter and unable to plan something solid while simultaneously running ten different scenarios in his head at any time, each more catastrophic than the previous. 

Which is why it’s somewhat of a relief when they set sail. Being on the ground felt too much like sitting on his thumbs, at least at sea he has the impression of productivity. Maybe they will find out something new in the next raid, or maybe he’ll at least get more experience with fighting and will be able to do better when the time comes. Speaking of fighting, if the experience with rescuing Opal and Bolin taught him anything is that he’s pretty much a living target without his boomerangs, and he can’t keep relying on Toph to make them for him. 

“I want to learn how to fight.” He tells Zuko, when he sees him crawl out of his cabin at mid-noon. “With a sword.” 

The captain arches his eyebrow, messy bedhead, a pastry halfway to his mouth, and his bad eye closed against the sun “Oh?” 

Sokka shuffles his feet, feeling prickly under the intensity of that unnaturally golden gaze. “I always wanted to, but the Northern authorities don’t allow it unless we join their military, so… I want to be more useful to you.” Because everybody here knows how to fight in one way or another, that’s what they live for. 

Zuko evaluates him, eyes wandering over his form from head to toe. It doesn't make Sokka uncomfortable, but there’s a curl of trepidation in his stomach that urges him to stand straight and tuck a strand of out-of-place hair behind his ear. 

“You have nice arms for holding a sword,” Zuko says, and then smirks, dropping his voice “and hands.” 

Sokka inhales sharply, sure that the innuendo is only in his head and Zuko probably didn’t mean it like that, but his startled expression is probably deeply amusing, because Zuko barks out a laugh. “Come with me” he says, ushering Sokka downstairs with a hand on the small of his back. They navigate the innards of the ship around piles of sacks, boxes and scattered supplies or loot to sell in ports, with the flame that Zuko produces on his hand as their source of light. Finally, he stops in front of a chest, kicking it lightly. When Sokka opens it, he finds it full of swords, daggers, and various sharp paraphernalia. 

“Take your pick,” Zuko tells him around a mouthful of his breakfast. “Whichever feels better. If you take to sword fighting seriously, I know a guy that can make you a personal one. But for now this will do.” 

He’s patient too, finishing the pastry while Sokka rummages through the pile, finally settling on a broadsword with a bone handle. It reminds him of the hunting weapons back from home. 

The person that’s more proficient with that kind of weapon turns out to be Nisa, who usually just screws hers in, in exchange for her knife, and is a merciless teacher. 

But falling on his ass time and time again, jumping around the forecastle and clashing metal is better than marinating in his own head, worrying and making up speculations, so he puts all of his effort behind his strikes, concentrates on avoiding being skewed and on balancing his footwork. He needs to improve, to be better. This is good, this will help eventually, he tells himself.

Whenever Nisa is busy, or tired, or has had enough of him, he busies himself with ship duties or tries a task he hadn’t done before. Anything to keep his mind occupied and to make him tired enough to fall asleep at night as soon as he achieves horizontal position. 

But today, Suki orders him to climb up the ratline. “Go give Aang some company” she says, with a knowing look in her eye. Sokka smells a trap. 

He’s never been up in the crow’s nest before. The endless, even expanse of the ocean, the strong winds in his hair and the rhythmic flapping of the wind pennant throwing shades over them… it’s quiet. _Way too fucking quiet._

“Or you are just too jumpy” Aang smiles, and Sokka realizes he’s said that out loud. 

“Yes, you did.” 

“I don’t understand how you can sit here all day and just look at nothing.” He shakes his head, very pointedly not looking down. He’s never been fond of heights. 

“I don’t.” He laughs “It’s not necessary if I keep watch more or less consistently, and even then, Ty Lee and I alternate. Or sometimes someone else comes up to chat, like you now. Although usually it’s not because Suki grounded them.” 

“She didn’t ground me” Sokka pouts. 

“Whatever you say, friend” Aang grins, but there’s no malice in it, he’s just such a sunny kid. “You, know, I actually think it’s pretty sweet that you’re so worried about your sister. She’s lucky to have you as a brother.” 

“Thanks,” Sokka smiles, even though it’s tinted in sadness, he doesn’t specify how it’s his fault that this is happening to her. “She’s a great kid, you know? Well, I say kid but she’s only a year younger than me. And even if it’s always been my job to take care of her, more often than not, she took care of me. She’s just too stubborn and bratty to accept no as an answer, and would always bully me into doing things I didn’t want to do but had to. I think she’d fit in great here.” 

“I’m sure of that!” Aang happily agrees. “You know? I voted in favor.” 

“Thank you.” Sokka says again, moved. He didn’t ask anyone what they’d voted for, just grateful that the general result came out positive, but some people did express their support (and one his dissatisfaction, but Jet's just a weirdo) and it always brings him to tears. “Do you have siblings, Aang?” 

“Nah, I don’t have any relatives.” 

“Oh.” Sokka deflates, feeling bad for asking, but Aang’s shrug and soft expression sets him at ease. “Most people here don’t, from what I’ve seen.” 

“Yeah, we are orphans of peace, you could say.” Sokka feels like that’s an appropriate way to put it. 

“I actually thought Ty Lee and you were related. You kinda look alike and you know, airbender and stuff.” 

Aang laughs at that, as if Sokka just made a really clever joke. “Oh no! I grew up in a refugee camp in the mountains, with one of the pocket remains of the Air Nomad’s culture. She was raised in the Heart of the Fire Nation, practically in the royal palace, with Zuko and Mai. We met only two years ago, when Zuko specifically came to us looking for a teacher for her.” He stops to think for a moment and then continues “But she _is_ kinda like a sister to me now, I guess, I love her a whole lot. Hey, maybe I do have a sibling after all!” 

“Woah, hold on, hold on, hooold, on-” Sokka puts his hands up, perplexed by what he’s just heard “Ty Lee was living in the Fire Nation? Don’t they like… hunt the airbenders, for sport and stuff?” 

Aang shrugs “I’m not really privy to the story all that well, the three of them don’t ever talk about it. But I guess someone of her family had been one of our own that went into hiding and married into nobility. All I know for sure is that her arrival has to do with Zuko’s own sister. After becoming a pirate he went to meet princess Azula, but came back with only Mai and Ty Lee. Also he was like, half dead, from what I've heard. Whatever really happened that night - it’s between them.”

“Shit-” Sokka whispers. He leans over the crow’s nest, eyes finding Ty Lee’s always moving form with ease. Aang gives him a knowing look, continuing: 

“Ty Lee was in a really bad shape back then, having suppressed her airbending for years, even went into acrobatics to mask it somewhat. But it was getting out of control and both her and Mai were really messed up psychologically for other reasons. Our camp is on good terms with the White Lotus, so I remember when Korra and Lyn showed up with Zuko and the girls. Except that nobody was comfortable letting firefolk stay with us, for obvious reasons.” 

“I can imagine.”

“Yeah, but Ty Lee wouldn't let go of Zuko for a second back then, practically glued to his sleeve, and wherever she went, Mai went as well. At the end, I volunteered to leave with them, so here we are.” 

“Why?” Sokka feels both amazed and confused. He’s always seen Ty Lee as a carefree, social butterfly, she makes everything seem so easy. 

Aang’s smile takes on a sad edge. “I’ve always wanted to see the outside world. The camp was home, but… it was stiffening. We are supposed to be nomads, move with the wind. I wanted to see what else was out there and learn more about our culture and history from hands-on experience. Part of Ty Lee’s recommended healing process was visiting the ruins of the High Temples and forging a connection to the Four Protectors — that’s our spirit deities, like Tui and La for you — but we both benefited from it. And even though I taught her all I know of airbending and she’s in a much better place emotionally now, I came to like it here. I can actually be useful, help heal the world instead of just hiding away, even though I don’t always condone the Lotus’ or Zuko’s methods. But that’s part of our teaching’s, you know? We cannot always control everything around us, and that’s okay, we aren’t meant to. More often than not, stuff happens by chance or because the spirits will it to, not because of us or something we’ve done, we aren’t really that important.”

Sokka sighs “did Suki ask you to give me a philosophical lecture?” 

Aang tilts his head “No, but are you projecting?” 

Sokka huffs, wondering if it would be rude to just jump off and climb down the ratline. Aang grins at him like he’s read his mind. “You know? They say I’m a really good listener.”

“Who’s _they_?” 

“Nevermind that,” Aang waves it aside. “Just breathe in the fresh air and tell your buddy Aang what’s on your soul!” 

So, for a lack of anything better to do, Sokka does. 

“Hm… you know? This is exactly what I was saying. How is it your fault that you got kidnapped by us? If anything, it’s the spirit’s fault-”

“Or yours-”

“-except that the spirits don’t do anything for no reason. There’s destiny at play here. And maybe it’s even your destiny to rescue your sister and for her to go on to do great things. Or maybe we’ll all die a horrible death, and that’s also destiny at play!” He happily chirps out. Sokka shudders. 

“I hate destiny” he decides.

“You do? Or do you just hate not being in control?” 

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

Aang shrugs. The pennant above keeps thrashing and throwing shades across his face. “I think you need to learn how to keep yourself grounded and let your mind rest.” 

“Easier said than done.” Sokka huffs. 

“I could teach you.” And Sokka squints at him quizzically. Aang beams. “Meditation is a big part of my culture. It’s what lets us reach within ourselves and take control of our inner turmoils, temptations and diversions. Through it, you can achieve peace even in the middle of a war, or remove yourself from your problems until you are ready to face them, and even then meditation can help you find the best solution.” 

“I’ve never been good at sitting and doing nothing.” Sokka tries to wriggle out. Impulsivity is his middle name. 

“Oh, believe me, it’s so much harder than doing nothing.” 

At the end, he ends up staying up there for hours, Aang walking him through the basic steps and being infinitely patient even when Sokka feels like he’s failing spectacularly. In his eyes, he made no progress, but Aang assures him that starting is already a big step and even if seeing results might take time and effort to manifest, he’ll recognize his progress on this day when he looks back to it. 

It’s a lot of mambo-jambo in Sokka’s opinion, but he has to hand Aang one thing - meditating is _hard work_. 

But it doesn’t make his body tired. So he finds himself later turning restless in his cot, like he hadn’t since his first night onboard. 

And just like then, he extricates himself and, stepping cautiously over sleeping crewmates, makes his way to the stairs, emerging on the quarterdeck, deserted except for one person. 

“And here I thought I’d never see you up here again at this hour.” Zuko throws him an amused glance over his right shoulder. 

“Sorry to intrude on your alone time.” Sokka leans on the railing next to the helm, facing the captain, who shakes his head in reassurance. 

“It’s fine. So is this natural insomnia, or have you finally decided on sabotage?” 

And there’s a dozen things Sokka could say. He could joke about how yeah, he’s been a spy from the North all along and they would laugh, or he could ask Zuko about his day, like a normal person. He could complain about the hot weather… Hell, even telling Zuko that he’s gorgeous and the way his hands are holding the helm handles makes Sokka weak in the knees would have been better than what comes out of his stupid mouth. 

“Thank you for being so understanding with my sister situation. Aang told me you don’t have a good relationship with yours.”

Stellar, Sokka’s mouth, just stellar performance. Fuck. 

Zuko looks at him in surprise, then up at the crow’s nest, and Sokka recoils when a lick of flame bursts out of his nose with a strong exhale. “Thank the spirits Aang is stuck up there all day long, because with that giant mouth…”

“I’m sorry” Sokka raises his hands to placate the captain’s anger. “I shouldn’t have said anything, just wanted to tell you that I appreciate it.” 

“It’s alright.” Zuko deflates, shoulders dropping as he slumps against the wheel. “It’s not like our cases are comparable in any way. Azula…” He makes a sour face. “At least I managed to get Mai and Ty Lee out of there, that was _my_ sister-rescue mission.” 

“That bad, huh?” Somehow Sokka has never considered it - Zuko’s family, the _Fire Nation royal family_ , are his worst enemies. And Zuko is not the talkative type, unless he’s drunk on hot wine, but under the cover of the stars and the wind creating a little bubble of intimacy around them, he opens up, voice rough and yellow eyes focused on the horizon like a big cat overseeing its territory. 

“We were never close. She was born without firebending but with the ability to create lightning and a complete lack of empathy.” 

“A dangerous combination.” 

“You tell me. My uncle finally gave up on her when he saw her rejoice while my father was branding me. He knew the signs, he grew up with a brother that was beyond salvaging as well. He tried to warn me, dissuade me from trusting her. I didn’t listen. I went alone, she showed up with Mai and Ty Lee. I thought I could get through to her, but nothing worked. I was so stupid, the only thing I did right was bringing up the airbenders as a last plea. She laughed in my face for _going soft_. For me that was all the proof I needed. For Ty Lee, it was the last straw.” His expression softens just a bit then, at odds with his words: 

“When Azula attacked me, she turned on her. I’d always seen the three of them as a unit, but turns out it was more like Ty Lee trying to survive with Mai as her only saving grace. Ty Lee had lived in fear and paranoia for years, under the heel of someone so much more politically powerful and manipulative, hiding a secret that she was losing the reigns of. In one rash decision she threw it all away, her wealth, status and family, with the element of surprise on her side. We fled, and it took her six months and a lot of help from Aang to even begin healing for real. She’s come a long way since then, her and Mai both. I might have not been able to save Azula, but I saved them, and that’s more than enough. It’s a gift from Agni, and if I never accomplish anything else in my life, at least I got this.” 

“And, you know, all the people you saved back on Kyoshi Island, and… you saved me.” Sokka swallows around the sudden lump in his throat. “Not only from the North. I… don’t know how to explain it but I think you give a lot of people hope, and a home. I bet everyone here would say the same.” 

Zuko stares at him, his good eye wide and either it’s a trick of the light or his cheek is darker than usual. Oh, that’s new. Finally he comes out of his stupor, shaking his head with a slight smile, not cocky or sarcastic, just a sweet little one. 

“Come here,” he says, letting go of the helm with one hand and taking a step aside. Sokka eyes him with confusion. “You asked me once to teach you to man the ship. It’s as good a moment to start as any.”

And Sokka goes. He goes because he doesn’t have any other option, doesn’t get a chance to refuse because why would he ever pass up that opportunity? He would have to be stupid. But it’s hard to concentrate, hard to focus on the meaning of Zuko’s instructions and commit them to memory, when they are spoken so close to his ear. 

Because suddenly they’re close, way too close, as Zuko traps him in front of the helm. And Sokka is painfully reminded of his revelation, back in that tent, when his heart starts doing cartwheels. It’s tricky to remember to breathe when Zuko takes his hands and guides them to close around the handles of the helm, his own fingers, firm and strong, curling over Sokka’s, both of them holding the thick wooden rods, which is not symbolic at all, of course not, it doesn’t make Sokka’s brain delve into uncharted territory, running astray. The wood under his palms is heating up under his grip but it’s not nearly as warm as Zuko’s palms, warm, always so warm. 

And Just as Zuko’s fingers over him, are his arms, skin against skin, up to his chest snug against Sokka’s back. He says something about how the helm is connected to the rudder, which angle changes the way the ship interacts with the ocean currents, and when his breath hits the side of Sokka’s neck, curling around his nape, he wants to lean back, just enough to feel hot lips on his skin for a second, a pleasant tightness pooling down in the pit of his stomach, delighted by the closeness of the other man’s body. 

“Feel the resistance,” Zuko is saying, “the sea fighting against you” and when he makes to turn the helm half a degree, the muscles in his arms go taught, chest pressing forward between Sokka’s shoulder blades. 

And Sokka is both entranced and desperate to not miss a single second, a single word and whiff of campfire scent. And if he just angled his body back a fraction, arched his hips, he’d be fully connected to the firm heat of Zuko’s torso. He won’t do it of course, won’t show his cards. 

But fuck, he _wants to_. 

“Sokka,” Zuko calls out to him, his fingers giving Sokka’s a questioning squeeze, “are you listening to me?” 

And Sokka hods, because he doesn’t trust his mouth to open and instead of “yes” say something like “your voice drives me crazy” or “I want to rut against your dick, may I?” but Zuko huffs a laugh into his hair and Sokka swears he can feel his lips spread into a smile against his scalp, sending a shiver all the way down his spine.

He immediately misses Zuko’s heat and sweet pressure when the other man takes a step back, something knowing and intriguing in his fierce golden eyes. 

“I think you need to go to sleep, you seem… spacey.” He mouths the word as if trying it on for fit. “We can try this some other time.” Sokka is embarrassed by his reaction and sees the chance to flee with his dignity intact, taking it in stride.

“Yeah, I’m super tired.” He sends Zuko a wobbly smile, turning with his back to the man and angling his steps carefully, least Zuko’s gaze accidentally slipped to the front of his crotch. “Have fun here by yourself.”

“Goodnight” Zuko snorts in return, and Sokka exhales a breath of relief once he slips downstairs. 

Yeah, he really wishes he didn’t have to sleep in a common room with all of his crewmates, not that he’s going to be able to fall asleep at all in the next couple of hours, at least. 

They spot the ship they’ve been after the next morning. The vessel with the official Northern flag carrying tax money and goods, believing itself safe having changed its route by barely a couple miles. 

This time Sokka doesn't hide below deck with Teo, he brandishes his sword and watches as the ship draws closer, their own sails taught with bended wind. 

“Hoist the colors!” Zuko bellows, and the black flag unfurls from their pennant — the blue spirit’s mask over crossed swords, Zuko’s warning to the world — signalling their identity and intentions. A wave of excited expectation rushes through the crew, and Sokka feels it in his bones, his skin erupting in goosebumps. 

“This is your moment of truth” Nisa says, next to him “stay close to me. Let’s see how you really are with that sword.” 

Sokka grins at her, and they can hear the panic, the shouting on the other vessel and the chaos when they come close enough to make contact. Iroh is at the helm, expertly lining them side by side, when Haru turns the levels and the spikes spring from their hull, catching onto the other ship’s flank. Zuko is on the ratline, one sword in his hand, another in his teeth, eyes ablaze with raging fire and ready to jump. 

For Sokka it feels like a deja-vu, an out of body experience. He’s been here before. He’s heard the plank being lowered and the feet rushing over it. Seen the Boulder with Toph on his shoulders break the first wave; Aang and Ty Lee fly over; three of the Kyoshi girls, in full battle-paint, Zuko and Suki swinging over on ropes. He’s lived the chaos of battle, sword against sword, metal - rods, cables, weapons and plaques - behaving unnaturally. He’s heard Zuko’s cry of “Surrender and you will live” Thundering over the mayhem, his blades on fire. 

He knows what it feels like to be overpowered and have to be bound, thrown in a pile with your crewmates until strong hands drag you into a line, force you down to your knees and you realize you lost. There’s nothing else to do but bow your head as the pirates patrol behind you, one false movement, one suspicious look, and you’re in deep water, heart hammering in panic at the sound of footsteps behind you drawing closer. 

Except that this time, he’s on the other side. 

This time it’s Sokka’s footsteps. Him and his sword, out of breath, exhausted and with one pant-leg torn, arms aching and a swallow cut on his bicep, but otherwise okay, sharp eyes and ears tuned on their prisoners. And it’s his crewmates running up and down the docks, boxes and barrels in hand. “Prioritize the flamepowder!” Mai yells, taking out her notebook. Suki and Zuko drag the captain forward, followed by Chit Sang, several satchels and a chest in his hands. Suki motions for Haru to follow her back in. 

“Hey Sokka!” Mai calls out to him “I’m guessing you want the sea prunes?!” 

She looks amused and either Juli or Kira (it’s hard to tell with the make-up on) is grinning at him, a box in her arms. 

Sokka hears Jet groan on his other side and he laughs. “Thanks, yeah!” 

“We got the cargo!” Zuko announces. “Thankfully not human, this time. Let’s wrap this up!” 

And it occurs to Sokka that he actually had never seen the retreat, occupied as he’d been the first time by being knocked out unconscious. He sheathes in his sword and jumps on the plank, in turn with everybody else. Leaving their victims to find a way to unbind themselves and find their way with snapped rigging, the Blue Spirit’s sails filling up with swift wind, carrying them away from the other ship. 

“Well done, everybody!” Suki grins down from the quarterdeck, sitting on a barrel, her hair and ear hoops swinging wildly with the wind. And Sokka feels like every cell of his body is buzzing with energy, the high of his first raid, and the shared camaraderie with this group of outlaws, misfits and royal traitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm taking a break from fandom in general, so you won't see me around tumblr for a few days. But I'm gonna update as scheduled on Friday and between tomorrow and Wednesday I'm gonna post a complimentary story in this series called "A quartermaster's heart" - I highly recommend reading it before chapter nine. 
> 
> Wow... only two chapters left. Time flies.  
> Speaking of complimentary stories - I've been thinking about writing one for Mai and Ty Lee, since there's a lot to say about them that have not been covered here and I want to explore their relationship and life path. Would anyone be interested in reading that?


	9. Loyalty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ### IMPORTANT: BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER PLEASE CHECK OUT - [A QUARTERMASTER'S HEART](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26977090)
> 
> It's an additional snippet from Suki's POV and explains some stuff that isn't evident for Sokka.

.

Two days after Sokka's first raid the Blue Spirit docks on a pristine, tiny beach in one of the remote estuaries that define the rugged coastline of the continent. The cliffs surround them from all sides, lush with greenery above, but the high, bare tree standing proudly over the edge is like a giant X-marks-the-spot, and if the suspiciously stair-like alignment of stones, passages and caves leading comfortably above is any indication, this is not an uncommon meeting plot. 

“It is,” Iroh confirms Sokka’s suspicion “the village nearby is one of our safe spots and the Lotus’ influence is strong in this area, that’s why we are meeting Korra here, they know where we’ll be.” 

So they leave the ship and split into two groups. Sokka wants to go with the one that’s going into the village to sell and buy supplies, but Suki takes him by the arm and insists that he’s just gotta get to know the area first, so they go with the patrol-slash-foraging one. 

It’s a sunny day and the dense forest is alive with a hundred shades of green. Sokka’s never seen much green in his life and he’s mesmerized by the colors of the forest, as well as the smells and sounds of luxurious nature. He isn’t sure if a dozen people split into pairs are gonna be able to locate any potential enemy incursions, but he’s enjoying the walk and the company. Suki seems to know where she’s going, amicably chatting about the terrain or her memories of getting lost here once with Kira. The sunlight filtering through the leaves paints splashes of bright light on the trunks of the trees, the floor and their figures. 

“Oh, these ones are good!” Suki kneels behind the stump of a fallen tree and flicks out a knife, collecting mushrooms into her bag. Sokka sees another cluster of the same kind nearby and sets down to work as well. 

“I trust you to know which ones won’t kill us” 

She chuckles “I used to forage in the forest on Kyoshi island a lot when I was a kid. My tutor taught me which are safe and which are better to avoid. And-” she wiggles her eyebrows when he turns to look at her “which are better saved for a good time.” 

Sokka grins, drinking in the halo of light around her hair and the mirth in her eyes. The undercurrent of _“do something, plan, help, katara katara katara-”_ is still busing under his skin, day and night, but he’s tried meditating with Aang again just this morning and the unfamiliar forest entertains his hyperactive brain, allowing him to focus on the present and the beauty in front of him. He knows his feelings are doomed, but it’s not like he’s aiming to turn them into something tangible. The resignation is comfortable in its own way, because just being here and being free to enjoy the sight and the easy conversation, is a balm for the soul, one of those little pockets of quiet happiness that make life worthwhile living. And yeah, he must have been staring, because Suki tits her head, as if studying him, and her gaze turns coy, something mischievous in the air around her. 

“Actually,” she says, “I want to show you something that I think you’re gonna like.” 

“Okay?” Sokka doesn’t know what brought about that change in attitude but he gets up and follows her, because she knows where she’s going in this forest and Sokka doesn’t want to get lost, but it’s also Suki so he would follow her anyway. 

After fifteen minutes or so of trekking and climbing over fallen trunks or boulders they emerge on the banks of a river. 

And the stream itself is narrow, barely two meters across, but it falls off a cliff in a beautiful cascade of colors and mist rising in the air, pooling at the bottom of the falls in the shape of a wide lagoon. The soothing sounds of water drowning the cackling of a flock of parrot-geese in the trees. 

“Woah!” Sokka looks around in amazement, but especially at the waterfall and the gorgeous rainbow shimmering in the foam at its base. He’s so distracted by the natural wonders around that he doesn’t look at Suki until he hears the rustling of her clothes hitting the stone under their feet. And he almost chokes on air as he turns around. Suki is shedding her undergarments, completely unbothered by his presence, her red top, pants and boots pooling at her feet, only the dark coil of her arm tattoo covering her skin. She looks like a nymph when she stretches her hands up, the sunlight reflecting off every inch of her body, a creature from the spirit realms that naturally belongs in this secluded dreamscape. 

“C'mon,” she smiles at Sokka, completely unbothered by decorum and his obvious gaping “are you planning to get in with all of this on, or what?” And before Sokka can get his bearings back, she takes a step forward off the boulder and jumps into the water, splashing it everywhere, including on Sokka. 

“Hey!” he complains, the cold water and her mocking laughter breaking the momentary enchantment. He hurries to pull his tunic off, working on the fastenings of his boots. Suki emerges from another dive in the water and smirks at him, paddling closer to the edge of the lagoon. And Sokka barely has time to get rid of his pants when she reaches out and grabs him by the ankle, dragging him into the water as he loses balance and flails his arms, hitting the surface painfully, undergarments still on and shrieking — very manly, of course — like a banshee. 

The water is cold, but not nearly as cold as in his native seas, where he’s had the misfortune of falling over the boat or diving to prove a point to a peer. However Sokka is a horrible swimmer, these unfortunate submergings not really conductive to much practice, so he flais and paddles frantically, probably looking ridiculous if going by Suki’s general amusement. 

Finally she takes pity on him and closes in, winding one arm around his chest and guiding them both to a swallower area, where his feet touch the slimy bottom. 

“Sorry,” she grins, not sounding sorry at all, but her body is a source of heat and she’s still snug against him, hand sliding down to the small of his back, her breasts squished to his chest and Sokka is eternally grateful for his underwear and the cold water “I thought you could swim, Water Tribe and all.” 

“Water Tribe in the _South Pole_ ” he reminds her, and can’t help but laugh as the realization crosses her face. 

“Oh by Nuwa,” she _does_ sound mildly apologetic now, “I’m an idiot.” 

“Kinda,” he teases, and gets a splash of water in the face for his troubles. 

“But you managed not to drown when Jet pushed you overboard.” She lifts herself up on a flatstone by the banks and runs her hands over her face, pushing her wet hair off the way. Sokka follows her and they lay down, side by side, like cats soaking up the warmth of the sun. 

“It’s easier to keep yourself up in seawater, and I think I managed to survive thanks to sheer panic.” He grumbles, remembering that day. “And you laughed at my misfortune.” He mock-complains and isn’t really surprised when Suki’s grinning face blocks the view of the sky, having felt her turn on her side, propped with one forearm near his shoulder. Her wet hair and earrings drip cold droplets onto his warming skin and her free hand finds his wrist, closing over it. 

“Oh how rude of me? What could I possibly do to atone for it?” She sighs in the fakest way Sokka’s ever heard, and chuckles at it. But the sound dies in this throat when she takes his hand and guides it to rest on her own waist, shuffling closer, her knees bracketing his leg and the upper half of her body practically laying on him. Sokka looks down at their intertwined, very much naked, bodies, gulping around the lump in his throat. There’s no way he’s misinterpreting this, he’d need to be dead to misinterpret it, and the heat stirs in his belly, more insistent now that he’s out of the water. Her eyes catch his, sultry and dark under the curtain of her eyelashes, way too close. 

And Sokka wants to give in so badly, his body and heart ache with want for her, but he remembers the last time he felt this surge of arousal and gold eyes flash in his mind. 

He scurries away. 

“No.” He tells her, and it’s one of the hardest things he’s ever done in his life, but he won’t be _that_ guy. “We can’t- _Zuko._ ” Because he isn’t privy to their intimate garbage, but even if she’s offering him what he so much desires, he wouldn't do that to another person he feels so strongly for, respects, and owes so much to. “I- I don’t know what problems you two are having, but please don’t drag me into it.” He very pointedly turns away from her, ready to spring up and run if necessary. And for some reason he mourns, he mourns because the two of them seemed so good together, a flawless unit, understanding without words, unconditional support and intertwined future, something he thought was a perfect relationship, but it can’t be if here she is, propositioning another man. And he hates knowing that. He would rather now know that. 

“Sokka, Sokka!” Her voice breaks his spiralling and he risks a look at her. She’s sitting at a respectable distance, a concerned frown on her face. “Calm down. Zuko and I aren’t having any problems.” 

“You aren’t? But-” 

She smiles then, sweet and a little bit apologetic. “Haven’t we been obvious enough, dear? If it’s you, he won’t mind at all.” 

Sokka stares at her. 

“Just think about it.” She insists, extending her arms together to crack her knuckles “Also relax, you worry too much.” 

She scurries away and slips into the water, smiling encouragingly. “I swear everything’s fine, sorry for spooking you. But really, come over here now. I’m gonna teach you how to swim properly. No shenanigans, I promise.” 

Sokka hesitates, but any traces of the previous mood are gone from her face, so he lets himself follow her, keeping his distance. 

She sighs and rolls her eyes, but quirks a smile and something in it puts him at ease. He remembers the way Zuko’s breath had felt on the back of his neck, how unnecessary close he’d stood that night, strong fingers on his own, and an understanding starts to take shape in the depths of his conscience. He can’t make out all the details yet, doesn’t see it clearly or knows how he feels about it, but he’s beginning to connect the dots, the casual gestures and words thrown here and there, forming a picture that he’ll try to decipher later. For now, he has a new skill to focus on learning and a long track through the forest back to their ship. 

  
  


Sokka is joking around with Haru, watching from the beach when the other group comes back, carefully descending the rocks. Zuko’s leading the line but almost by the bottom he turns to yell something at Ty Lee, hackles rising, and slips on a loose stone, rolling down the rest of the way like an amorph sack of potatoes. 

Everybody goes quiet, until Zuko raises one arm to wave feebly that he’s still alive, at which point the entire crew erupts in laughter. Sokka himself is holding onto his stomach while Suki is hurrying over to fuss over Zuko, helping him sit up and checking him all over, peppering his face with kisses, even though she’s clearly amused too. 

Zuko’s face is red like a poppy and he’s got steam coming out of his ears in embarrassment, very adamant to hide his face behind his hands. Suki winds her arms around his back in a bear hug and chuckles into his hair, shoulders shaking, her eyes and touch so full of affection that Sokka feels mesmerized.

Their eyes meet, and suki holds Sokka’s gaze as she leans down to kiss Zuko’s head and rubs her cheek against his scarred temple, still tenderly embracing her long-term lover. It’s her way of reassuring him, and Sokka appreciates it more than anything. He looks down at Zuko, who’s childishly pouting as he rubs his knee. It’s kinda cute, and Sokka can’t help but replay her earlier words in his memory _“If it’s you, he won’t mind”._ It sends a pleasant shiver down his spine.

  
  


Korra almost cries when she tastes the sea prunes that they plundered on their last raid. Her group arrived this evening and Sokka recruited Chit Sang as his burner in order to prepare a good pot of stew Gran-gran style. They don’t taste nearly as good as hers, but it’s close enough in his opinion. 

“I never thought I’d miss these, but even after all this time, it’s one of the best things I ever tasted. Thank you, Sokka.” 

Sokka beams at her and shoves another spoon into his mouth. 

Sadly, their companions are not nearly as appreciative of fine Southern cuisine as they are. The only one happily gobbling down his portion is The Boulder, Asami looks green in the face, and Sokka’s pretty sure he’s caught Teo throwing spoonfuls over his shoulder. Some firefolk, like Zuko and Mako, have poured half a pot of chili sauce inside, each. Toph abandoned her bowl and went to find something ‘more edible’ (her words) and Aang has already puked in the nearby bushes. Jet is grumbling under his breath about being right but nobody ever listening to him. The rest are either looking resigned or poking at the dark blobs in their bowls with suspicion. 

“You guys,” Sokka declares at the group at large, “are uneducated heathens.” 

  
  


Luckily, his underappreciated performance as a chef doesn’t get him kicked out of the planning committee the next morning. 

“Are you sure we can trust this intel?” He eyes carefully the letter in Korra’s hands. They’re in the navigation room, an array of maps, pebbles and figurines littering the low table. “It’s just that your contact is…” 

“A lunatic?” Suki asks.

“An egomaniac?” Asami tries to help too.

“Crazy?”

“Volatile?”

“Delirious?”

“It’s Varrick!” Sokka thrusts his hands forward. “When you said Iknik I didn’t know you meant _Iknik Blackstone Varrick!?_ That guy made a fortune working for the North and the Alliance, he’s basically a traitor to the Southern Tribe! Why would he be helping us?” 

Asami shrugs. “Surprised us too. But his wife contacted the Lotus three years ago, they’ve been doing us favors ever since. Their intel never failed and his reputation, coupled with the social position he’s in, allows him to gather a lot of details and still fly under the radar.”

“And it’s not like he is doing this out of a bleeding heart” Zuko snorts. “We can’t raid his ships, and if we do, it’s the ones he vetoed and we don’t get to keep the good merch, leaving it in secure locations for him to resell later. So I guess he’s just doubling his benefits on all accounts.” 

“In other words,” Iroh smiles, “we can trust our industrious friend’s interests with this mission.” 

“Speaking of-” Korra moves four pebbles across the map to the main port of the Southern Water Tribe. “None of the ships in the fleet are his. Three cargo vessels, one warship. Katara will be on that one.” She says, tapping on the only white pebble. 

“Burning down four ships by ambush when their troops are on land, is one thing, but on water…” Suki rubs at her chin, leaning forward. 

“Well,” Asami takes over “we better find a way, because as they continue North, they’re going to pass by a stronghold, where two more warships will join them. There’s no way we could take on a fleet of six ships, three of them - fully armed.”

“What’s the stronghold?” Zuko asks. 

He says it normally, but Korra and Asami exchange a concerned look. 

“Zuko…” 

“What’s the stronghold?” He narrows his eyes, sitting straighter. 

Asami sighs and places two white pebbles next to Kyoshi Island. 

“Of-fucking-course!” Zuko spits out, gritting his teeth loudly as Suki goes rigid and then loudly exhales. He reaches out for her hand and she squeezes back, dropping down on the arm of his chair. 

It’s an uncomfortable moment of silence. Iroh tries for a gentle look at the couple while Korra and Asami turn sideways, pretending to review something on the star chart on the wall. 

Only Sokka is staring at the map. Four vessels leaving the South Pole, two at the Kyoshi harbor, will join together at sea and travel in a pack to the North, well protected against pirates and other nuisances. 

“You are not going to like what I’m thinking of,” He tells the room at large. Every head turns to look at him. He swallows, the plan taking form in his brain as he speaks “but it might be our best chance.” 

“Well, what are you thinking of?” Zuko tilts his head. 

Sokka meets his eyes. “Of your story. How you got the Blue Spirit and escaped the siege three years ago.” He looks around the table and, finding nothing appropriate, takes out one of his silver earrings, carefully placing it on top of one of the pebbles at Kyoshi Island. 

He pushes them west and slides all six stones together to the center of the map, then takes out his other earring and puts it in front of the pebbles. “And when everyone is concerned about an obvious enemy…” He slides the pebble with his first earring snug against the big one, representing Katara’s prison-ship.

Sokka looks up and studies the faces of everyone assembled. 

“That could actually work” Asami covers her lips with her hand in a contemplative gesture. 

“But-” Korra taps with her finger on Kyoshi Island on the map.

“This part of the plan would be the most crucial” Asami agrees. 

Suki sighs, rubbing at her temples, “I could reach out to some of the people still living there. See if they can help us move around.” 

“Are you sure?” Zuko asks her. 

“Yeah. It’s a solid plan and… well that’s not how I imagined our return home, but it’s for a good cause.” She smiles feebly and bumps their shoulders together. Zuko reciprocates with the same gesture, and when Sokka looks at Iroh for a final vote, he finds the old man looking quizzically at him, like he’s planning the next move in a complicated pai-sho game. 

They spend the next few hours fine-tuning the details, working out the kinks and tracing routes on maps. Afterwards, comes the debrief with the crew. Through all of it, Sokka feels the pressure in his chest shift. Not disappear, but morph, turn around, and he isn’t sure if it’s better or worse. 

Up until now, the uncertainty was what kept him awake. But now, it’s knowing that they do have a plan what makes it real. And the most terrifying part is that it’s _his_ plan. If anything goes wrong, if it fails, it will be his fault. And not only does his sister’s freedom (or, spirits have mercy, her _life_ ) hang by a thread of his own weave, so do his crewmates, his newfound family. No amount of preparation, of checking and rechecking, can quench the anxiety as the parting day draws closer. He finds himself simultaneously giddy for the upcoming fight to be over and wishing for the clock to stop. 

He trains, harder than ever, he meditates, he hunts, he joins the party that meets up with buyers for their plundered goods, and when he comes back he trains some more. Aang gives him a knowing look. Sokka doesn’t need the kid’s untimey wisdom and his silent appraisal. He knows that the airbender must be itching to say “you were struggling with your lack of control, now you struggle with the responsibility because too much control was put in your hands.” 

  
  


The night before they sail for Kyoshi Island finds him walking away from the shore and the campfire, where the two groups have gathered for some music, good ol’ gossip and a slumber party under the stars. It’s usually warm and companionable, but today it just feels like too much, they are too loud. 

So the quiet on the deck of the Blue Spirit feels like a soothing blanket. Sokka walks downstairs to his cot, to retrieve the pair of whalebone hook earrings that he’d picked on the day he swore his oath. He takes the silver off his earlobes and replaces it with the white bone. The trepidation in his chest interblending with steely resignation. Whatever happens tomorrow, and the day after, he put it in motion, and he’ll see it to the very end. 

He figures he should return to the beach with everyone else, but when he ascends the stars, a lone figure catches his eye. 

Suki is leaning on the railing, watching the bonfire on the shore and the waters of the bay shimmer with a detached calm. The night breeze combs gently through her hair, her ear hoops glittering with the full moon’s light. 

She barely reacts when Sokka joins her, both resting their elbows on the wooden railing, barely two feet apart. 

“Nervous?” He prompts “About returning home?”

She makes a noncommittal sound “I guess I just don’t want to see what they’ve done to it. I’m worried I won’t even recognize it.” 

“You don’t need to come,” Sokka tries to reassure her, convince her that he would understand “you could stay with the Spirit’s team.” 

“No,” she exhales and shakes her head “I need this too. I have to face it eventually. The place I was born to will never again be my home, nothing will ever return to how it was before, might as well get it over with tomorrow.” 

“Don’t say that” Sokka pleads “One day, if everything goes according you the plan-”

“Even then, it’s never been an option.” She turns to him slightly, her eyes shining unnaturally blue under the moonlight “Worst case scenario, I won’t live to see the Alliance release my island. Best case scenario - we win, just as planned. But then, I’ll be Fire Lady, with responsibilities conducive to repairing the world after a hundred years of imbalance and reworking from scratch a Nation that I want as far away from Kyoshi as I want the North.” 

“That’s a lot of personal sacrifice.” Sokka hopes his voice doesn’t come out as strangled as his breath. She shrugs, but there’s no apprehension in her features. 

“Not really. It’s a nice daydream, of coming home, but I’d much rather have purpose and pride, and a legacy. What sacrifices wouldn’t you make for the world you want to leave behind once your lifeline runs out?” 

The floorboards creak lightly behind them, but Sokka doesn’t acknowledge the deliberate footsteps. He knows the person that has joined them wouldn’t be heard if he didn’t want to make his presence known. 

Instead, he thinks. He thinks of making peace over the past weeks with never seeing his native village again or the faces of the people that raised him. He thinks of a dangerous life out at sea, protecting them from afar, working day and night, through storms and fire, with his sword and his mind, awaiting for a chance to turn the tide. He remembers the two options that he’d been presented with when he was told he would not be handed over to the North. Hide away, build a family - or fight. If he’d taken the first one, he would have never found out about Katara’s fate. 

He’s signed up for a life of chance, but it beats hiding away for the sake of a traditional convenience - marriage and kids. Because it sounds nice but maybe it hasn’t ever truly been in the cards for him; merely a dream that he thinks he can sacrifice for a better goal. 

He straightens up, sensing the comforting heat of somebody’s breath on the back of his neck, and looks Suki dead in the eye, hoping his gaze will be able to convey the emotions that he doesn't know how to put into words. “I will sacrifice anything to see you on that throne.” He says instead. And he knows by her smile that she understood his deeper meaning. 

“Such gallant loyalty.” Zuko’s voice sounds soft, like the rustling of leaves, as he rests his hands on Sokka’s hips. It’s a tentative touch, leaving Sokka a window to pull away, but he doesn’t. Instead he leans back, into Zuko’s chest, and lets the other man slide his arms around his frame, hugging him from behind. Sokka relaxes into the comfort of it with a content hum, the warmth and smell of campfire smoke gently soothing his nerves. 

Suki is smiling, at the two of them, with joy and fondness in her eyes. And when Sokka raises one hand to cup her jaw — the other coming to rest over Zuko’s, against his own ribs — she turns her face into it, kissing the inside of his palm with her soft, plump lips.

Sokka closes his eyes, savoring the quiet and the pleasant undercurrent of affirmation making him lightheaded. 

“Why me?” He asks them, because even when he should just take joy in the moment, he can’t help but question it. But that is something to work over on a later date, when his heart isn’t doing a happy little dance and his body is humming in agreement. 

Suki chuckles, not letting go of his hand. “At first you were just nice to look at and fun to tease. But you have a way to make people become fond of you. You are funny, extremely honest, even when you shouldn’t be for your own good, passionate, curious, witty… and you fit right in when we are together. Zuko and I tell each other everything, but tend to be wary of everyone else. However, it’s been surprisingly easy to be open with you since the beginning, and that doesn’t usually happen to us with other people.” 

Zuko shrugs, and Sokka feels it against his back, around his shoulders “Don’t expect _me_ to get poetic. You just get under my skin.” 

Sokka snorts, letting his head lull back on the other man’s shoulder, their cheeks brushing. “ _Everything_ gets under your skin.”

“But you stay there.” 

_“What does that even mean?”_ He mouths at Suki, and she lets out a giggle. Sokka feels Zuko pout against his neck, but has to suppress a gasp at the jolt of pleasure when that pout turns into an open-mouthed, wet kiss. He closes his eyes, the first kernels of arousal curling in his belly as Zuko nibbles on the sensitive skin, his chest and shoulders spasming with contained laughter. 

Suki’s eyes look dark under the hood of her eyelashes as she drinks in the picture of them. She steps forward, right into their space, her front snug against Sokka’s and when she pushes herself on her tiptoes, one hand closing around his nape, he knows what she’s going to ask next. 

“Can I kiss you? Can we?” 

Sokka nods, leaning forward, even as Zuko unwraps one of his arms from around his belly to pull Suki in closer, the three of them pressed tightly in a warm cocoon. Sokka is completely trapped, but he’s never felt more comfortable and safe. Her lips tickle him when she brushes them against his own, but as she presses forward, they feel like a summer breeze, tasting of dry berries and seasalt. He allows himself to sink into it, into the kiss and the hands all over his body, allows the sensations to take over, the shivers to shake his frame, his breath to hitch. He offers himself up to them and if the reaction he sees in her eyes when she pulls back, and the stiffening against his backside, are anything to go by, this kind of pliant submission is exactly what all of them need. 

“Let us take care of you tonight, darling.” Suki cups his cheek lovingly in her hand. “Stop worrying for a while and just let us show you how to feel really good. Would you like that?” 

“Yes, please.” Sokka whispers. Because he would very much like that. It’s been a wild ride since he first met them. Since that kernel of pure physical attraction and curiosity turned into something more smothering, more heart-wrenching and mature. He’s tired of yearning and admiring them from the outside, he wants to know what it feels like to be the object of their desire, for a change. And he doesn't think he’ll be able to sleep tonight anyway. 

So he lets himself be guided through the deserted ship, pulled into the captain’s cabin and onto the bed. 

And when Zuko’s tongue licks into his mouth, the only thing his mind actively registers is the sound of the locks sliding shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (つ ✿◕‿◕✿)つ (‿ˠ‿)  
> Am I just gonna leave it there? Well, yes, because of the rating. You can imagine what happens in that cabin tho, and if not, the plan initially was to write an extra story with all the smut. I'm not sure if I'm actually gonna do it though. Depends if people are interested in it or not, I guess. 
> 
> Also, I'm not sure if I'll be able to update on Monday, since it's gonna be a busy weekend, I'm sorry :'D


	10. Blood and water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We've reached the end of this journey :')

Sokka wakes up gradually. Grunting against the pains in his body he cracks one eye open, glad for the semi-darkness. He tries to prop himself up but a shot of dull pain pins him down to the bed. Then he sees the bandages running over his chest and around his middle. Oh, so that's where it’s coming from. 

He turns his head, blinking the fog away and notices the sleeping form of Suki, slumped in a pile of pillows next to his bed. The sight of her pulls a smile out of him, and he tries to remember the events that led him to this. 

He remembers rowing to the _Eska II_ under the cover of the night, not even a single candle but the lights of the ship to guide their way. They needed to make haste, least the dawn caught them. — (He remembers before that, Suki trembling against his chest, after they’d crossed the remains of Kyoshi Island under the cover of darkness. _“I don’t even recognize it. How could they change it so much I can’t even recognize it?”_ ) — He remembers silencing the sailors, some pinned under his sword, some by ice or metal fans or threats of fire. And overboard or to the cells they went, Korra and the benders made an especially meticulous work of disposing of them, as silent as they could. Sokka turned his face away, preferring not to watch. He did his job as a lure and used his sword when needed, until they were clad in stolen uniforms and had spared those soldiers that were only loyal to themselves, those that would do anything not to be hurt or killed. 

When dawn arose, they fell in line with the other ship, raising anchor in the direction of the meeting point, Suki at the helm and Sokka by her side. Kyoshi Island grew smaller and smaller in the distance, and he didn’t chance a glance at her face, which had been strung in grievous tension throughout the entire trip. He just placed a hand on her shoulder, offering silent comfort, wishing he could hug her again. But it wasn’t the time, or place. 

He remembers the hours of travel until four alliance vessels appeared in the distance, Sokka’s gaze zeroing on the battleship at the head of the fleet. The uniform he was wearing hid his face, and Sokka was glad for it in that moment, even if it reeked of sweat and made him sick to the guts. 

The ship’s original quartermaster raised the salute flags, instructing their order with a conveniently placed knife against his back, for motivation, as Mai had put it. 

“They will notice” He gritted through his teeth. “And you will all pay.” 

“I don’t think they will care for a while.” Aang chipped in, pointing at a fog bank ahead. And out of it, a ship emerged, red sails, golden dragon prow and a black flag flailing in the wind. If Sokka squinted enough he could almost imagine Zuko at the helm, a sardonic smirk on his lips. 

All over the Northern vessels rang the alarms. “Now! GO!” Suki yelled, and the crew sprung into action. So did the other ships, readying themselves. A red pennant unfurled on the primary, the ship where Katara was held. 

“They are going to attack the Spirit!” Suki confirmed what they already knew. It was a no-brainer. The Blue spirit was feared across the seas, but outnumbered six-to-one? What idiot would pass up that chance?” “Let’s give them some _assistance._ ”

Aang jumped on a rope, flying over the rigging until he could perch on a yard, progressively filling the main sail with more wind and propelling them towards the flagship slightly faster than any of the other vessels, coming to its side more snugly than anyone expected, if going by the confused looks from the other crew.

“Ropes and planks ready!” Suki ordered. Sokka ran to grab a line, grenade at the ready. “We’ll only have one chance… any moment now-” The flagship was in scrambles, readying its trebuchet, but the Blue Spirit fired first. The bomb hit its mark, but instead of an explosion of fire it erupted in a thick cloud of smoke. “NOW!”

Sokka hurled the smoke grenade at the other ship and followed right after, swinging over the gap between the ships. He let go, rolling over the quarterdeck and unsheathed his sword just in time to block an attack. He parried and sliced his attackant’s side, discarding his helmet. As much as he’d rather go look for his sister, he knew how to fight now, and that made him a perfect distraction. So he fought. 

He fought and he presented himself as a target, and anyone who stayed over deck with him had thrown off their helmets to be recognizable. He wielded his sword, thanking the spirits for his obsessive training, and barely saw anything but smoke, hurling another grenade at the floor, his last one, when the air became too clear around him, slashing and turning and pushing overboard anyone who had their helmet on but rounding up back-to back with Suki and Nisa and Chit Sang when he bumped into them. 

He disarmed an opponent, and sliced through his arm, feeling sick at the sight of blood, which distracted him just for a second. But it was enough. A burn swept over his entire right side, his ribs screaming in agony. He rounded on the soldier that had attacked him and knocked him out cold with the hilt of his sword. 

And when he was backed against the longboat, three men on him, a stream of water rushed over the deck, effectively swiping them off. 

“Thanks!” He yelled at Korra, turning to watch her back. 

“What’s taking them so long?!” She yelled in response, throwing another two soldiers overboard with a flick of her wrist and dodging to sucker punch another right in the throat. The smoke was turning way too thin and they were all out of grenades. With half a thought, Sokka wondered why the other four ships weren’t coming to the rescue, as they’d had expected. 

“We got her!- AW!” Came Toph’s voice as she, Aang and The Boulder came barreling out of the hatch, throwing their helmets off. 

“Let GO OF ME!!” 

Sokka almost fell to the ground weeping. The Boulder was struggling. He had his kicking, thrashing, screaming bloody murder sister thrown over his shoulder. 

“Katara!!” Sokka yelled, running towards them. She looked wild, hair undone, hands encased in heavy metal cases and feet in shackles, but otherwise unharmed. 

“Sokka?!” Her eyes almost bugged out of her head as The Boulder deposited her on the ground in time for Sokka to body-tackle her. 

Sokka kissed her brow, her hair, her cheek, her nose, weeping in relief all the while, ugly sobs not letting him get a word in. 

“We all clear!” Mako announced, meaning they were done with the enemy sailors, but Sokka wasn't even listening, he was way too focused on his sister, and holding her face in his hands. 

“Sokka! What are you-? What's going on?!” 

“It’s a rescue, you stupid.” He exclaimed hysterically, still not letting go of her “We are rescuing you!” 

Katara looked absolutely bewildered and then yelped when strong arms encircled them both, smashing the siblings together and lifting them off the ground. Korra’s relieved laugh so contagious Sokka’s face split into a manic grin as well. 

“Korra, be careful!” Suki shouted “Sokka, you’re bleeding!” and not until she put them down and Katara gasped in horror that he noticed his entire side was drenched in blood. Weird, he barely felt the pain with all the excitement and rush. 

“Suki, we have a problem!! Aang yelled, catching everybody’s attention. Sokka turned, and- 

“Oh, shit.”

So that’s why none of the other ships were coming to the rescue. Instead of helping one of their own, they had all followed through with the objective. 

They had the Spirit surrounded, four-to-one. 

“NO!” Suki yelled, pure panic, as she sprinted to the forecastle, “Zuko!” 

And Sokka felt like he’d been drenched in a bucket of ice. His vision began to swim, knees shaking. That hadn’t been the plan! The Spirit’s crew was holding its own but Ty Lee was too busy off-coursing projectiles to give them a push. Their routes of escape were closing, in a matter of minutes- 

Sokka’s injury suddenly began to burn again, the pain returning with a punch. No no no no— this was not happening, this couldn’t happen! 

“I can help them!” Korra announced. “I can I- did it before but—” She looked pale and shaky, and Sokka suddenly remembered that she’d agreed to this mission despite the fact that the open sea absolutely terrified her. “I’ll need help.” She turned to Katara. “Toph, get that case off her!” 

The metalbender obeyed, ripping the restrains off Katara’s hands like they were made of paper. 

“I need you to lend me your strength!” Korra was towering over, grasping Katara’s hand, who seemed alarmed, confused and shaken. She looked around frantically and met Sokka’s gaze, and her image began to dilute, but Sokka nodded at her and maybe it was just his body finally giving up despite the panic he felt all the way down to his bones. Or maybe it was the sudden kick of energy all around them, but he had the sensation that the water underneath them had begun to slither and boil, shaking the ship like a tremble of fevers.

And maybe it was his brain hallucinating, but as Katara screamed, dropping to her knees with her hand still firmly clasped in, Korra’s eyes began to glow. And she raised her arm, fingers closing bare air. 

The last thing Sokka saw before passing out was the sea exploding in a circular gaizer around the Blue Spirit, lifting the enemy ships forty feet up like droplets in a teacup. 

  
  


Sokka inhales sharply and looks around, panic jolting through his body but receding as soon as he realizes where he is. The same room where he’d woken up in the morning before the mission. The captain’s cabin on the Blue Spirit.

He flops down on the pillows, thanking Tui and La, Agni, Nuwa, and the Four Protectors all simultaneously. 

The door creaks open and Zuko’s messy head pops in. He does a double-take at seeing Sokka and his lips break into a grin. “Oh you’re awake!” He comes in and sits on the side of the bed, examining Sokka critically. “Is this an awake-awake, or an awake-tell me I look like a chicken nugget-and then fall unconscious again kind of awake?” 

Sokka groans and throws an arm over his face. “Did I really-?” He clears his throat and shoots Zuko a thankful glance when the other man offers him to drink from his waterskin. Something about this action feels eerily reminiscent. 

“You were pretty out of it with the cactus extract that Teo gave you to numb the pain.” Zuko concedes, but there’s relief in his eyes. “How do you feel?” 

“I’ve been better.” Sokka decides to tell the truth. “But I’d have expected to be worse. Everybody else?”

“Better than you.” 

Sokka exhales in relief. “For how long was I out?” 

“Almost two days.” 

“Any serious damage?” 

“Nothing Teo couldn't control and Korra couldn’t heal once she woke up from her power drop twenty hours later. But don’t go almost dying on me again or I’ll personally keelhaul your corpse until even your spirit is in shreds.” 

Sokka snorts, but hears the threat for what it is. 

“Jerk.” he answers in the same tone, and sighs happily when Zuko leans in to kiss his cheekbone. His lips linger on there and Sokka relishes in the proximity, gently bumping their noses together when he tilts his head up for a small, chaste press of lips.

A grunt worthy of a waking grandpa pulls them out of their small bubble. Suki’s turning in her nest of pillows, rubbing at her eyes with a look of absolute begrudgement. “You kids are loud” she complains, but smiles at them nonetheless. 

Sokka smiles back, and reaches out for her. “What were you doing on the floor?” 

She grumbles, still sleepy, and crawls on the bed, nuzzling into his neck. Sokka nuzzles back, because it feels nice and to indulge his heart, which is doing a happy little acrobatics display at all the affection. 

“Didn’t want to jostle your injuries.” She mumbles against his stubbled jaw. “Are you lucid?” 

“Yeah.” Sokka reassures her, “and famished. Is there anything to eat around here?” 

“I don’t know, Zuko looked pretty edible to you last time you were awake. You also kept calling me _princess_.” 

Zuko fake-sighs “why is that you get to be a princess and I’m a piece of fried poultry?” 

Sokka laughs. Which was a mistake, because his ribs protest, but not enough to keep him down. He winks at the captain, who’s rolling his eyes with a huff “Because you are delicious, but I’d rather go for fruit and water now.” He could also use a wash and some sunlight. 

“Can you stand?”

“I think so? My legs feel fine.” 

“Good” Zuko nods. “Because there’s someone waiting for you.” 

He sees her before she sees him. Sokka makes it to the deck, both Suki and Zuko supporting him on either side. The day is slightly cloudy and the salty breeze feels like a dream, filling his lungs with fresh air. The Blue Spirit is docked at the same estuary they’ve been using for the last week, only a handful of people on deck, doing damage repairs. 

Aang is hanging from a rope upside down, enthusiastically waving his arms while retelling one of their most ridiculous adventures, and a couple feet below, Katara is leaning against the railing, laughing at his antics. Her hair is pulled into her customary braids, sleeves rolled up. She looks healthy, in good spirits, and overwhelmingly _present_. 

Sokka grins, cleaning his throat to draw their attention. 

“Sokka!!” Katara jumps almost a foot in the air, beaming at him even as her eyes fill with tears. She lunges forward and Suki barely has time to intercept her. 

“Woah! Careful, he’s still recovering.” But she might have as well let her because before Katara has time to apologize a short and loud cannonball crashes against Sokka’s back, drawing him out of Zuko’s arms and propelling him into Suki and Katara. 

“Sokka’s AWAKE!” 

“Hey… Toph-” Sokka manages to cough out, seething at the sharp pain. “Please-” 

“Toph! Let him go!!” Suki and Zuko yank her away, lifting her off the ground, which enthuses a screech out of the thrashing metalbender. 

With the little demon off him, Sokka leans on Katara, grinning at his sister from ear to ear. 

“Are you alright?” She wiggles herself under his arm, to better support his weight. 

“Yeah. You?” 

Katara chuckles, shaking her head. “Your new friends are… something else.” 

“Sokka!” Sokka winces in anticipation when he sees Chit Sang barrelling up the stairs with his arms open, at the same time as Katara, Zuko and Zuki scream “No hugging!” 

Chit Sang comes to a halt two feet away “oh, right” he lowers one of his big hands and gently pats Sokka’s head. “There, there.” 

“Alright, everyone off the Quarterdeck!” Zuko orders, finally putting a grumbling Toph down. He gives Sokka one meaningful look, complete with a raised eyebrow. “I’ll see that you get some food.” 

“Thanks.” Sokka beams at him, and then leans in to let Suki kiss his cheek. “See you later, dear.” 

“Take your time, you two.” She says as she ushers everyone else down the stairs. 

Sokka inspires deeply, still savoring the fresh air, and with Katara’s help sits down on the ground, against the wall of the navigation room. 

“I see you… settled in.” She comments, making herself comfortable by his side. Sokka wonders what exactly she has on her mind when she says it. Either his love life, his pirate oath or even the weather. He opts for giving her hand a squeeze. 

“I know this probably feels like too much for you now, but… I got used to it, and so will you.” 

“I know I just… it’s a lot to take in, and I miss dad.” 

“Yeah.” Sokka concedes, looking up at the sky. “Me too. I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Katara frowns, tilting her head. “Sokka, you rescued me!”

“Yeah, but they wouldn’t have taken you if they had gotten me.” 

“Nonsense!” Her voice hardens. “Sokka, they wanted me anyway, you know that. Because of my Blessing, they would have found an excuse to take me eventually.” 

Sokka figures it’s not worth arguing about that, especially since she’s right. “Have you talked to Korra?” 

“Yeah.” Katara looks aside, chewing on her lower lip. “Is she really the same Korra that-?”

“Aye.”

“That’s crazy!”

“It is!” Sokka grins, bumping her shoulder. “But she’s not so bad. And she’s family.” 

“She leeched all the energy out of me on that ship. I slept for a day.” Katara pouts. 

“Well, it was an emergency!” Sokka protests, but he knows Katara well enough to see that she isn’t actually angry, just worried. “What is it?” 

“She, uh- She offered to mentor me. Teach me to control my beding. But I’d need to stay with her for a few months, because she can’t go out to sea.” 

Sokka nods. “That was the plan all along. And Katara-” he wonders what’s the best way to say this. “I might have… kinda volunteered you for this crew, without asking you first. I mean of course I couldn't ask but I had to convince them and I know you always loved the open sea and- but if you don’t want that I’m sure we could-”

“Sokka stop, you dumbass.” She swats his shoulder, careful not to touch any bandaged areas. “If I can’t go back, my home is where you are. And if on top of that I get to bash in some Alliance heads, all the better.” 

Sokka exhales soundly. Now, that’s the girl that he knows to covertly throw ice balls at soldier’s crotches! “I knew I could count on you!” 

“Oh, don’t go soft on me now.” Katara rolls her eyes, but they’re filling up with tears again and so Sokka draws her in, relishing in the feeling of absolute relief at being able to hold her close. 

“Ew, you smell.” 

“Shut up!” He pushes her away, rubbing at his own eyes. “I’ve been bedridden for two days.”

“Seriously, how did you attract a- how was it? a _dear_ with that stink? I leave you for a month and you manage to trick some poor gal into paying attention to you? Besides, isn’t she with the angry scary guy?” 

“Oh, wait until you hear how it really is!” He figures it will be fun telling her about his relationship on a later date, in full detail. The fact that he loves her and is happy to have her back doesn’t mean that he can’t torture her, just a little bit, as a treat. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She scrunches up her nose in disgust. “Oh never mind, I’ll just ask your crewmates. Some of them are very helpful.”

“Really?” Sokka raises an eyebrow. “I’ve seen you were getting along with Aang earlier.” Good, Aang is good, crew psychologist and all of that, the nicest, most pure kid on any pirate vessel ever and-

Katara shrugs “Yeah, he’s funny. Jet’s been a real gentleman too, so far.” 

Sokka almost capsizes. “JET?! Oh no!” He jabs a finger at her, hackles rising “No Jet! He’s an asshole! I don’t want you anywhere near _Jet!!_ ” 

Katara’s laugh carries all the way to the shore. 

  
  


The Blue Spirit raises anchor early on a misty morning. Sokka, already healed, is standing on the quarterdeck next to the captain, with Suki on his other side. Back on the sands he can still see Katara, waving her arm enthusiastically with Korra’s hand on her shoulder. They’ll see each other again soon enough, although Katara had asked him to stay with her the day before: _“It’s ought to be two or three months at most. I’m sure the ship can survive without- what exactly is that you do?”_

But it’s been a few days and Sokka’s already itching for the open sea. He never thought he would be one of those people that feel more at home on rocking decks than on solid ground, but his newfound sense of purpose tells him that’s exactly where his place is. He has a blue and gray sleeveless shirt on, dark navy pants with his sheathed sword hanging from a belt, a holster for his boomerangs on his back, and whalebone earrings to compliment his choker. He shaved the sides of his head and tied up his wolftail with a blue ribbon. Not a dash of purple; he will look the part of the Southern Water Tribe as much as possible, he’ll make sure the Alliance knows who’s attacking them and regrets ever making an enemy out of their sister tribe. 

He’ll make sure his father hears of the Southern warrior on a pirate vessel wreaking havoc and recognizes his description with pride. 

And he’s positive that when Katara had suggested him to stay with her but he’d turned back to look at the others — more exactly at Zuko and Suki, standing on the beach and pretending not to be eavesdropping on them — she... _understood_. 

It’s still new and he knows that the three of them will need to find a synergy, a way to work together that Zuko and Suki previously had years to develop for themselves. And some days he wonders why they’d chosen him? What can he bring to the table that they didn’t have before? But he also knows that some things cannot be explained with words or rationale. He knows that it’s a tiny miracle of cosmic coincidences that the seamless harmony that the two of them had developed, with time and patience, just seems to accommodate him almost as if they’d had left a place for him in their small world from the very beginning. 

Aang would say it’s a gift from the spirits. Sokka thinks it’s just statistical luck. The two of them are so in tandem that sometimes they stand on the same half of a scale. Sokka balances up the other side. 

And It’s in the little things: the way that Zuko trusted Sokka to be there for Suki if their pass through Kyoshi Island turned out to be too much for her, (because if both of them had gone, they’d have retrofed into their misery); the way that Suki holds Sokka through his nightmares and kisses his shoulder before wriggling out of his arms at dawn; the way Zuko’s body replaces her minutes later and they fall asleep together, and Sokka knows he’d warmed himself up with firebending because he doesn’t want to disrupt Sokka’s comfort. It’s in the affectionate smile Iroh gives him when they study map routes together, as if he already considers Sokka part of his immediate family. It’s in the way they look out for each other in battle. 

The world is still fucked up and the Alliance is growing stronger with each passing minute. But one day, just as Korra envisions, they are bound to make a crucial mistake. Until then, Sokka has a home on the water, a principle to live by, and soon will have his sister on his team as well. 

And a heart full of love. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! The end of this story, but not of the series. I have some complimentary stories planned and some art in the works.  
> Speaking of; if you want to see how our babies look like, I did some sketching:
> 
> [ **LINK TO THE MAIN TRIO** ](https://salytierra.tumblr.com/post/632523329915535361/)  
> [ **LINK TO SUKI SHOWING OFF HER TATTOO** ](https://salytierra.tumblr.com/post/632258311790772224/)
> 
> I will always love this story and I know the wordcount is not that high, but a lot of thinking, planning and some research went into it. As any writer starved for validation I always appreciate feedback, kudos, comments, reblogs and tags on the tumblr posts. 
> 
> Huge thanks to everyone who followed this story as it was being posted. You guys are the best and I hope this ending was good enough ♥

**Author's Note:**

> Please don't hesitate to reach out and talk to me about this story. Either on here or on my tumblr: [@salytierra](https://salytierra.tumblr.com/post/629622479664644096/heave-ho-sea-rats-and-future-kings-atla)  
> I crave validation :'3

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The curse of Agni](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26845054) by [salytierra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/salytierra/pseuds/salytierra)




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